PERSONA NON GRATA
by Heartwings
Summary: Set post Endgame, Kathryn and Chakotay have a homecoming that was not what they had hoped for.
1. Chapter 1

**PERSONA NON GRATA**

Kathryn materialized at the end of the sidewalk at her mother's Indiana home and could not believe she was finally there after seven years in the Delta Quadrant and what seemed like an eternity sequestered on DS9 for brutal debriefings. She had been permitted brief conversations with her mother, however she knew they were monitored, so they were only able to discuss the most general and mundane of things. Kathryn had been delayed and tried to send her mother messages from San Francisco to let her know when she would be arriving, but she hadn't received any replies, so she wasn't certain her mother had received them. Being so close to Christmas, the comm system was overloaded with holiday messages going back and forth. To compound matters, The Ligonian Ambassador and his delegation chose to leave at the same time Kathryn arrived at the transport station, so she had to wait her turn as various Starfleet and Federation officials and Ligonian diplomats said their lengthy formal goodbyes and there was no opportunity to let her mother know of the further delay. Indeed, Kathryn had spent the better part of the afternoon and early evening in a corner, hidden behind a large Christmas tree, as she didn't want the reporters present covering the diplomatic conference to know she was there and cash in on it. She had just done three days of press conferences at Starfleet's behest and that was more than enough.

As Kathryn materialized and stood at the end of the sidewalk, she looked at the old farmhouse, a house that had nurtured several generations of Janeways before it sent them out into the world. The house stood majestically, cloaked in a mantle of snow and adorned with festive Christmas decorations, as warm golden light spilled out from the windows onto the snow. She felt an odd sense that this was somehow an illusion or a dream and, if she were to take a step, it would all dissolve into the darkness. She found herself shaking slightly, but steadied herself as she realized she was standing in the snow, didn't have a coat on and was just shivering. Kathryn drew in a sobering breath of cold crisp Indiana winter air, walked the twenty or so paces to the door and reached for the chime. Before she could press it, the old fashioned wooden door opened and her mother pulled her into the house and hugged her so hard Kathryn looked up to make sure it was really her mother.

"Katie, Katie, Katie, you're really home, it's really you!"

"Yes, Momma, it's really me and I'm home!"

When she was finally able to let go of Kathryn, Gretchen held her daughter at arm's length as she smoothed down her windblown hair, brushed off the snowflakes and scrutinized her again to be sure it was really her. Kathryn looked up, saw her sister and her grandmother standing behind her mother in the hall and left her mother's arms to run to them as they engulfed and hugged her.

Gretchen looked out into the snow at the aide standing there on the front step with Kathryn's baggage. Apparently the poor man also hadn't thought to get a coat before transporting out into a snowy night. He looked as if he was just going to stand there until someone told him to do otherwise, so Gretchen finally said, "Young man, bring Captain Janeway's bags in and put them down over there, please."

Kathryn's sister and grandmother hugged her and cried as they hurried her into the living room, where a crowd of family members was waiting for her. Kathryn was fighting back the tears and trying to say hello and hug everyone as her mother entered the room. "Katie, that aide of yours was not only stupid enough not to wear a coat, he was also the most impolite and insubordinate little snot I have ever met. After he put your bags down he had the audacity to hold out his hand for a gratuity, can you believe that? Let me know his name so I can report him to Owen in the morning."

Kathryn jumped up and put her hand to her mouth. "My aide! What? Mother, what… what did you do with him, where is he?"

Gretchen crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. "I gave him a piece of my mind and sent him packing back to Starfleet, that's what!"

"Mother!" Kathryn screeched as she ran from the room, went to the front door, opened it and dragged what was now a Starfleet snowman into the room. "Mother, everyone, this isn't my aide, this is my friend Chakotay, my first officer on Voyager!" Kathryn smiled at Chakotay apologetically as she tried to brush the snow off his uniform. He was too cold to smile back.

Gretchen eyed him suspiciously before her eyes narrowed and her chin tipped up. "Then, why did he hold out his hand for a tip?"

Not being used to a cold climate, Chakotay's teeth were chattering so hard he could barely speak. "I wwwwasn't asking for a gratuity, Mmmma'am, I was hhhholding out my hand to sssshake hands with you and introduce myself, that's all, bbbbut you ddddidn't give me a ch cch… chance to."

Kathryn ushered Chakotay to a seat near the fire and brushed the snow out of his hair as her family looked on in confusion. "Didn't you get my message, Mom, that I was bringing Chakotay home with me? Phoebe, can you please get him something warm to drink, a cup of herbal tea?"

Gretchen was both annoyed and confused. "No, Katie, the last message I got from you said you were delayed and would let me know when you'd be here as soon as you knew. I never knew you wouldn't be alone, you didn't mention anything about Chuh… uh, what's his name?"

Kathryn went to stand behind Chakotay and put her hands on his shoulders as she smiled warmly. "Chakotay, Mom. Everyone, this is my friend Chakotay, he was my first officer on Voyager. I'm sorry, Mother, I did tell you, but Starfleet's been having problems with the comm system and you might not have received the message. If that's the case, I'm sorry. I invited Chakotay home with me to spend the holidays with us, but I didn't know he'd be able to come until this afternoon; they had him scheduled for some press conferences that weren't canceled until then."

Gretchen rose and became very pale as she motioned Kathryn towards her and quietly said, "Katie, may I see you in the kitchen, please?"

Kathryn nodded her agreement as she handed Chakotay a plate of cookies from the coffee table. "Chakotay, please introduce yourself around and get warmed up and I'll be right back. If you need anything, just ask, and make yourself at home."

As Kathryn walked into the kitchen, Gretchen grabbed her by the wrist and pushed her into a chair. "Kathryn, for heaven's sake, it's Christmas! What are you doing bringing some strange man into our home at Christmas? Here, let me get you some coffee to warm you up, I'm sure you probably haven't had a decent cup for seven years. Katie, what did you bring him home for, can't he spend Christmas with his family?"

Kathryn took several sips of her coffee before she could bring herself to sit her mug down. "Oh, Mom, you don't know how I missed this! Mom, I told you, I did send you a message, but they had some sort of overload with the comm system in San Francisco due to the holidays and that diplomatic conference and a lot of messages seem to be queued and delayed, but I assure you I told you and I didn't think you'd mind. I didn't know until this afternoon, he didn't get his official leave until then. Mother, he doesn't have any family he's been able to find, the Cardassians killed them all and left his home planet in ruins and he didn't really have anywhere to go. His sister may be alive, but so far he hasn't been able to find her. He's not 'some man', he's a Starfleet officer and he's my best friend and, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here right now."

Gretchen thought for a moment then her face went ashen. "Chakotay! Katie, isn't he that damned Maquis criminal you were sent out there to capture? Gods, Kathryn, why the hell did you bring him here, shouldn't he be in the brig? He's the reason you had to spend seven years out there!"

"He's not a criminal, Mother!" Kathryn shouted before she caught herself. "I'm sorry, forgive me, I didn't mean to shout. I've had a bad day and I'm really tired, that's all. Chakotay was cleared and he's a Starfleet officer, the same as me, the same as Daddy. Mom, I told you that, if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here now. He had nothing to do with why we got stranded in the Delta Quadrant, you know that as well as I do; I know Owen told you exactly what happened. Momma, Chakotay is the kindest, most intelligent, compassionate and honest man I have ever met and, once you get to know him, I'm sure you'll agree. You always said our house was open to anyone in need and he is, he has no family to spend the holidays with."

Gretchen sat her mug down loudly. "Fine, but just where do you expect me to put him? Your sister and her family and your grandmother and your aunt and uncle and all the cousins are staying here and we don't have any room, Katie. Can't you find someplace else where he can stay or send him back to San Francisco or wherever it is he came from? There's no room for that man here, Kathryn."

Kathryn took another sip of coffee. "Fine, Mother, then he can stay in my room with me."

Gretchen got up, shoved her chair aside and turned her back to her daughter. "Oh gods, Kathryn, don't tell me you're sleeping with him!"

Kathryn stood and moved to face her. "No, Mother, I'm not, but he's my best friend and has been for the last seven years and I'm perfectly comfortable sharing my room with him. We're not sleeping together, we never have, and our relationship is strictly platonic, but you should know that I do love him, Mother, and I want him to spend Christmas here with me, with us."

Gretchen sat back down with another huff. "Well, fine, but he's not sleeping in your room, Kathryn, and that's that. For heaven's sake, Katie, your grandmother is here! If you insist on him staying here, then at least send him to a hotel in town or have him sleep in the barn or something."

"Mother! It's freezing, he is **not** sleeping in the barn. It's two days before Christmas and there's a snowstorm, you know as well as I do you probably can't get a hotel room anywhere in Indiana. Anyhow, even if you could, I want him to stay here; he's never experienced an old fashioned family Christmas. There's nothing wrong with me sharing my room with him. I told you, we're not having sex, and anyhow, you never had any problems when Mark spent the night with me."

"That's because I knew Mark and liked him and he wasn't some stranger that you dragged home from some alien planet and, if you hadn't dragged your feet so much, Mark would have been your husband. Gods, Kathryn, isn't Chakotay the man you got marooned on some planet with for months? I can only imagine what he must have done to you, you poor dear, he must have brainwashed you or coerced you or something. I want him out of this house right now!"

"Mother! Yes it was him and he didn't hurt me, he's never done anything to me. You want to know what he did on that planet? Well, I'll tell you, he took care of me and cooked and made sure I ate and rested and he yelled at me when I didn't and for drinking too much coffee and doing dangerous things and he made our shelter more like a home and kept it clean and straight. You want to know what we did at night? We sat at the table, drank tea, talked and sometimes he told me stories, Mother, wonderful stories, and then we slept in separate rooms. Chakotay has never done anything to me, so just put your sordid imagination away right now." Kathryn got up from the table, stood behind her mother and put her arms around her shoulders. "Momma, he has never been anything but a friend to me and I care for him and I love him. As I said, we're just friends and I don't know if that will change or not, but he makes me happy and I want the chance to get to know him better now that we're no longer in a command structure and I'm sure, if you'd give him a chance, you'll like him too."

"Fine, but just get him out of this house; that man is NOT spending the night in your room, Kathryn Janeway!"

Kathryn threw her hands up. "OK, Mom, what do you expect me to do, build him an igloo in the back yard?"

"Kathryn, watch your tone and lower your voice. I don't care what you do, just get him out of here."

"Fine, Mom. This is your house and I'll abide by your wishes, but know that, if he leaves, so do I. We'll beam back to San Francisco and see if we can get temporary quarters or something, but I am not throwing Chakotay out, especially right before Christmas."

"You'll do no such thing!" Gretchen thought and rubbed her head before she spoke again. "All right, Kathryn, he can stay, but if that bastard so much as touches you, I'll show him you're not the only one in the family who knows how to use a rifle, and he had better not touch any of my things. I saw him eyeing your father's antique clock on the mantle; he probably knows how valuable it is."

"Mom, he was probably only looking at it because he likes antiques. I told him the story about that old clock probably a drozen times and that I knew it would still be ticking away on the mantle when I got home. You don't have to worry about him, he's honest and polite and good with kids; I bet the kids will love him." Kathryn giggled as she gave her mother a hug and tried to smooth things over. "C'mon, Mom, he's even housetrained and that's more than you can say for the last stray dog I brought home! Thank you for letting him stay here, he won't be any trouble and, if you just give him a chance, I bet you'll really like him. Mom, I'm starved, is there anything to eat?"

"What kind of question is that? Here, I made up a plate and saved it for you because I didn't know when you'd be here; I'll warm it up. I made all your favorites, so I hope you're hungry. Why don't you eat it in the living room so you can visit with everyone? There's plenty more, so help yourself."

"Thanks, I'll just fix a plate for Chakotay and heat it up, the poor dear hasn't had anything to eat since breakfast and I know he's starving too. He's a good eater and a good cook, Mom, you'll love him."

Gretchen grabbed the plate from Kathryn's hands before she had the chance to put any food on it. "Katie, don't use the good china, not for him. Use one of the plates I use for the grandkids, in case he breaks it. Here, this'll be good enough. Showing up uninvited and expecting to be fed, how rude is that?"

Kathryn rolled her eyes, "Mom! The reason you didn't know he was coming is because of me, not him, you know that, and I did invite him. I'm sorry I invited someone without asking your permission, but I never needed your permission to bring a friend home before; you always said this house was open to all family and friends and he's my friend. There's plenty of food here and he's very helpful and polite, so I'm sure he'll more than make up for what he eats by helping out and doing chores. He's a part of my life, Mom, I think you need to accept that." Kathryn added as she left the room with her dinner and a plate for Chakotay on a tray.

Gretchen threw their coffee mugs into the sink so hard she broke them. "We'll see about that, Kathryn Janeway!"

A few hours later Chakotay came out from the bathroom, put his things away, removed his robe, draped it over a chair next to Kathryn's and carefully sat on the edge of the bed. "Kathryn, are you sure you're OK with this, sharing your bed I mean?"

"Of course, and again please let me apologize for my family's rude conduct, but I'm sure everything will be OK. They just weren't expecting you and that's my fault. Please don't worry, I'm sure everything will work out, you know how people get stressed out around the holidays and the last couple of weeks of me home but not being able to see them was probably just as stressful for them as it was for me. I'm sorry about all that time I spent in the kitchen with Mother. What did you and everyone else talk about while we were in there?"

"Nothing."

Kathryn pulled back the covers for him. "Don't give me that, what did you talk about, what did they ask you? C'mon and get in bed, I'm fine with it, really; I don't bite. Chakotay, I feel safer next to you than anyone else, I swear. Now, I'll ask you again, what did you all talk about?"

"Nothing, Kathryn, nothing," Chakotay replied as he got into bed and pulled up the covers. "Your sister brought me some tea and she told me everyone's name and I said hello and then they just sat there and talked like I wasn't there and stared at me until you came back in. Well, your grandmother did smile at me, I think. Kathryn, maybe it would be better if I left, went back to San Francisco or something?"

She plumped up her pillow and rolled over on her elbow to face him. "Chakotay, if you want to leave, I certainly wouldn't blame you, but I'd much rather you stayed; I've hardly even seen you since we got back and I was really looking forward to spending time and Christmas with you. They just weren't expecting you, that's all, and I'm sure, once they get to know you, they'll like you."

He rolled over to face her. "All right, I'll stay as long as you don't think it'll make trouble. To be honest, after all you've told me about old fashioned Janeway Christmases, I was really looking forward to this and spending time with you too. Kathryn, you and your mother were in the kitchen a long time. If I may ask, what did the two of you talk about? Was it about me?"

She reached down and picked lint off the blanket. "Yes, most of it was. She was just surprised I brought you home and it bothers her you were in the Maquis and I think she thought our relationship was different than it is, but don't worry about it. Just be yourself and I'm sure my family will come around."

Chakotay took her hand to stop her from picking lint. "Keep that up and the blanket will be bald. OK, I'll stay and do my best to be charming, but I have my doubts. Kathryn, I'm sure your mother thinks I'm going to try to hurt you and steal things. Before I went upstairs she told me, if I touched any of her stuff, she'd make me sorry and, if I touched you, she'd kill me." His face finally relaxed into a little grin. "My dinner plate was plastic and had Trevis on it, do you think she'll let me eat my breakfast from a big boy plate?"

Kathryn laughed as she gave him a pat on the shoulder and turned out the light. "I wouldn't get your hopes up, Chakotay, but you may have to fight my nephew for that Trevis plate, apparently it's his favorite. Admiral Paris thinks the world of you and Mother respects his opinion, so maybe if he talks to her, it'll help. Please don't take her threats seriously, she's just stressed out with a house full of people and upset with me and how long it took me to get away from Starfleet, that's all it is. She and Nana Janeway don't get along, so that makes it even worse, I'm sure. I told her, I feel perfectly safe with you and that's the truth, so let's get some sleep before she thinks we were up all night doing what I tried to tell her we're not doing, OK?" Kathryn rolled onto her back and settled in. "Goodnight, Chakotay, and welcome home, even if it isn't exactly home sweet home."

He did the same. "Goodnight, Kathryn, and, as long as you're here with me, it is home sweet home."

Gretchen and Phoebe got up early the next morning to make Christmas Eve breakfast for everyone and talked as they worked in the kitchen. Gretchen handed Phoebe a bowl of muffin batter. "Here, you finish these up and I'll get started on the biscuits and sausage gravy. Well, what do you think of that… man Katie brought home?"

"I don't like him, Mom, he's one of those damn Maquis and we both know the only reason Starfleet let them off the hook was for PR because they supposedly helped get the ship back. Humph, of course they did, they needed Katie's ship to get back! He probably only sucked up to her to get his sorry ass home, that's all, and Katie will come to her senses and realize that and get rid of him when she figures out he was just using her."

"Gods, I hope so, but she told me she loves him, Phoebe."

"NO!"

"Yes, she sat right there at that table and told me so, that's he's her best friend and she loves him. Well, she said it was platonic, but they're up there in her room together right now, so I'm sure he's had his way with her by now, that filthy Maquis."

Phoebe put the first batch of muffins in the oven and started filling the cups for the second. "I don't think so, the walls are thin and I can hear what goes on in her room and they talked quietly for a few minutes and then I think they went to sleep because I didn't hear any more noise. I opened the door and peeked in her room this morning and they're both wearing pajamas and on opposite sides of the bed, so I don't think anything happened."

"Well, thank goodness for that! What are we going to do, Phoebe? When I found out Voyager got back I started lining up good eligible men for Katie. In fact, I talked with Adele Johnson the other day and Mark is home for Christmas and his wife went back to wherever she's from with their son for the holidays and I get the impression things aren't good in that marriage, so I was hoping maybe he and Katie could get back together. Mark Johnson is the type of man Katie belongs with, not that Maquis trash. Do you think I should make more biscuits?"

"Yes, Mom, better to have extra than to run out. Well, we'll just have to make sure Katie and Mark or somebody like him gets together, that's all. I'm sure you're right and Chakotay will be long gone in a few days. Nobody liked him, well, nobody but Nana."

Gretchen laughed as she slipped a tray of biscuits into the oven. "Of course Nana liked him, she's over a hundred years old and keeps asking me why I have a tree growing in the living room and who are all the people on the front lawn! The woman can't tell snowmen from real people, how the hell could you expect her to know that Chakotay is just a charlatan who's leading poor Katie on? Don't worry, Katie is smart, she'll figure it out soon enough. She didn't even sleep with Mark until after they were engaged and, anyhow, you know how Katie is, she's such a prude, he'll probably leave once he finds out he isn't getting any from her!

"Getting any what, Mother?" Kathryn asked as she walked into the kitchen, poured herself a cup of coffee and took a seat at the table.

"Oh… uh nothing, Dear," Gretchen replied as she gave Kathryn a hug and a kiss. "What are you doing up so early and where is… that man?"

"Chakotay, Mom, you know his name. He's still asleep, he was so tired, I doubt he'll be up for a while yet. I woke up early and smelled the coffee and that was reason enough to get up. Well, it's Christmas Eve, what are we doing today?"

Gretchen gave Kathryn a fresh baked muffin on a plate, looked down and put her hand on Kathryn's abdomen. "My gods, Kathryn, look at your belly, are you pregnant?"

Kathryn pushed her hand away. "No, Mom, of course not! I gained a little weight while I was gone, that's all. Gosh, you were always telling me I was too thin, I thought it would make you happy? I didn't have the time on Voyager to work out like I did before and I'm seven years older, that's all it is, I'm not pregnant. Mom, I told you, Chakotay and I aren't having sex. Why won't you believe me?"

Gretchen left the rest of the biscuits to Phoebe and took a seat at the table. "Of course, Katie, if you say so."

"I do say so, Mom! Look, I'm sorry if you don't like him even though you don't even know him, but I do like him, I love him, and I hope he'll be a part of my life. He was my first officer and I always insisted that we maintain the distance that protocol dictates and he respected that and he did, but we also grew very close. I don't know what the future holds for us, but I want the chance to find out, and I hope that Chakotay and I can spend a lot of time together, start dating and see if our friendship can grow into something more. He's special, Mom, and I really think you'd see that too if you give him a chance. He makes me happy, can't you see that? Don't you want me to be happy?"

"Of course I want you to be happy, Katie, but I also want you to realize that he isn't the only man that can make you happy. You can do better, Katie, so much better and, if you tie yourself to that Maquis, it'll ruin your career! You're still pretty and you're intelligent and practically a celebrity now, so there are a lot of men, good men, that will be interested in you."

Kathryn took another sip of coffee and gently placed her cup on the table. "That may well be, Momma, but Chakotay is the man who has been at my side and taken care of me for the last seven years and he's the man that makes me happy. I don't know what the future holds for me, for us, but I do know that I want to spend time with Chakotay and we want to start dating and see where it goes. Is that so hard for you to accept?"

"Yes, Kathryn, it is. I can see that seven years in the Delta Quadrant changed you, but I also know that you're smart enough to know when someone is just using you and you won't stand for it."

"Using me? Using me for what? Mom, if he were just using me to get home, well, we're home now, so why would he still be here? If he were just using me for sex, well, there isn't any and I've made it clear to him I want to date first and there won't be any until we know each other a lot better, so that's not it either. Before you get started, we didn't do anything last night, we just went to sleep."

"I know that, Kathryn, and I know your choices have been limited in the last seven years, but you're home now and they're not. Why don't you have an open mind and see what's out there for you before you settle for some Maquis consolation prize?"

Kathryn got up from the table and shoved her chair back so hard it went halfway across the room. "Fine, Mom, if that's the way you feel, I don't suppose I can do anything about it, but I think you're being awfully prejudiced and short sighted and I would have thought better of you. If you want Chakotay and I to leave, we will!"

Gretchen got up, replaced Kathryn's chair and tried to get her to sit back down. "Kathryn, for heaven's sake, it's Christmas Eve, don't ruin it! I'm glad you're home and all I want is for you to be happy and I certainly don't want you to leave. Please, sit back down and be reasonable, Katie." Kathryn reluctantly sat back down in her chair and knotted her hands on the table. "All right, Katie, if you insist that Chakotay stays too, so be it, but I hope you will at least consider the possibility that he may not be the right man for you. Katie, Mark is back home for Christmas and his wife and son didn't come with him and I think their marriage is falling apart, so won't you at least go see him and see if that's the case and maybe the two of you can get back together? Please, Katie, please?"

"Yes, Mom, I'll go see him, I want to see Mark, but only because he's an old friend, not because I have any romantic interest in him anymore. He moved on and so have I. Mother, I'm not in love with Mark anymore, I moved on after I found out that he got married. I've tried to explain it, Chakotay and I only became closer after I knew that Mark had moved on, he always respected what I had with Mark and never ever pressured me. In fact, he's never pressured me, Mom, not even last night when we were finally free to do whatever we wanted."

Phoebe joined them at the table. "Katie, I'm you sister, you know I love you and you can trust me, but this Chakotay is just a Maquis opportunist, he's only taking advantage of you."

Kathryn had had about enough. "Cut the crap, Phoebs, have you ever known me to let anyone take advantage of me? Give me a little credit, I'm smarter than that! It's been seven years, do you honestly think Chakotay would still be around if he were only interested in me for sex?" Kathryn giggled, "I'm getting pretty close to fifty, it's not like I'm such a hot prize anyhow! There were lots of prettier younger women on Voyager that would have been happy to have him, but he waited for me and understood when I told him that I couldn't be more than friends with him. Last night was the first night we spent in the same bed, in the same room even, and we took separate showers, got into bed, talked for a few minutes and then went to sleep… end of story. He didn't so much as touch me or even ask if he could, he just told me that, despite the way everyone treated him last night, he was just happy that we were together. Now, I ask you, if that isn't respect and love, then just what is it?"

Phoebe got up from the table and went back to preparing breakfast. "It's just some guy who knows he has to wait a few days to milk the cow, Katie, that's all it is."

Kathryn got up from the table, started for the door, but turned back to her sister. "That's crass, damn you, Phoebe! Why can't you just be happy for me and realize that maybe that man up there actually loves me? Me, not as tall and young and pretty as you imperfect little me!" Gretchen rose to speak, but Kathryn shook her finger at her and silenced her. "Don't you start in on me either! I'm going back upstairs and I'm going to have a good cry and see if I can pull myself together enough to salvage a merry Christmas out of this mess. Don't worry, Chakotay and I will be gone day after tomorrow, as soon as we can find a place to stay. All I wanted was for him to have an old fashioned loving family Christmas like he's never had, but I can see that I brought him to the wrong house for that!"

Gretchen went after Kathryn, but Phoebe grabbed her mother's arm to stop her. "Sit down, Mom, and have some coffee. Just let her go, you know there's no reasoning with her when she's like that, Katie is too hard headed for her own good and she's too tired and stressed out to be rational right now and that man has probably been messing with her head. She's also right, it's Christmas and we shouldn't ruin it for everyone, especially the kids. OK, I'm going to start the oatmeal and go set the table. Don't worry, Mom, everything will work out."

A little more than half an hour later Chakotay walked into the Janeways' large bright kitchen and smiled warmly. "Good morning, Mrs. Janeway, may I help you with breakfast?"

Gretchen looked up from her pans on the stove. "No. Is Katie up yet? Where is she? If you want some coffee, you'll have to get it yourself, I'm not here to wait on you, you know."

Chakotay topped off Gretchen's coffee mug sitting on the counter and poured himself a cup. "Thank you, Ma'am, I don't expect to be waited on and I'd be glad to help out. Believe it or not, I'm pretty handy in the kitchen. I'm not sure where Kathryn is, she was gone when I woke up. I checked in the living room first and they said they hadn't seen her this morning and thought she must be in here."

"As you can see, she's not. She got up a while ago and was upset and said she was going back upstairs, so that's where I thought she was. She probably just took a walk or something, that's all; she does that when she's upset. If you knew her, you'd know that."

"I do know that, Mrs. Janeway, but I don't think she took a walk, Ma'am. Her pajamas and robe aren't in her room and her shower hasn't been used, so I don't think she got dressed yet."

Gretchen was suspicious. "My, but you're very observant… or were you just going through Katie's things?"

Chakotay chuckled, "No, Ma'am, of course not. I wasn't sure if your family dressed for breakfast or not, so I checked to see if Kathryn had, so that's how I know she didn't. Please, Mrs. Janeway, won't you let me help you with breakfast?"

Gretchen put the pan of eggs she was cooking aside. "I suppose that makes sense, I'll go look around the house for her, she has to be here somewhere. Sit at the table, wait here and don't touch anything." Chakotay sat as instructed and drank his coffee. In a few minutes Gretchen returned to the kitchen scratching her head. "I've looked everywhere and I can't find Katie, nobody's seen her, and Eddie even checked the cellar and the attic. This doesn't make sense, she wouldn't go outside in the snow in her nightclothes!"

Chakotay followed Gretchen as she called for Kathryn and searched. "No, she wouldn't. Mrs. Janeway, there's tracks in the snow leading away from the back porch, has anyone been outside this morning, for firewood or to any of the outbuildings or anything?"

She went and looked. "No, someone will have to go out and clear the snow first, nobody's been outside yet, but you're right and there are tracks. Let me get my coat and my boots on and…"

Chakotay cut Gretchen off as he pushed in front of her and ran out into the snow in his bathrobe. "No, it's too cold, stay here, I'll go look for her!" He followed the tracks to the barn and then followed the trail of little puddles from melted snow on the barn floor that led past several horses in their stalls and ended at a stack of hay bales in the back corner. Kathryn lay among them, asleep, curled up in a horse blanket. He gently scooped her up and started carrying her back. "Kathryn, come on, you must be freezing, everyone was looking for you, they're all worried."

She awoke gently and started to shiver slightly. "Chakotay, I'm fine, I just needed to get away and have a little time to myself to think. I'm sorry. Gods, you're out here in your bathrobe, are you crazy?"

He held her tighter, looked down and smiled, "I could ask you the same question, Kathryn."

She retuned his smile, "I suppose you could. Mom and Phoebe and I had an argument and I just needed to get away and have a good cry, I was so upset it didn't occur to me I wasn't dressed and I was already in the barn before I realized it. I was cold so I grabbed a blanket and curled up to get warm and I guess I fell asleep. I didn't mean to worry anyone and I certainly didn't mean for you to come out in your nightclothes to look for me."

"It's not a problem, Kathryn, but how about you come talk to me or lock yourself in the bathroom, scream and yell, throw stuff or something next time you get upset?" She nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck.

As Chakotay came up the path to the back door with Kathryn, her mother was standing on the back porch to meet them. Once they were inside, Chakotay put Kathryn down on her feet as her mother grabbed her. "Katie, why the hell did you do that, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, Mom, I was upset and needed to get away. I'm sorry if I worried everyone and I'm sorry that you had to go outside in your nightclothes to look for me, Chakotay. Here, take the blanket, you're probably colder than I am. Just let me go upstairs and get myself together and I'll be down for breakfast in a few minutes." Gretchen started off after her, but Kathryn turned and stopped her, "No, Mom, stay here, I don't want you to come with me, just Chakotay. We'll be down in a few minutes, go ahead and call everyone in for breakfast. Go on, I'm sorry, let's just forget this and start over, OK?"

As soon as Kathryn's feet hit the stairs, Gretchen set off after her again, but Chakotay gently held her arm to stop her. "Please, Mrs. Janeway, I'll go and see to Kathryn."

She put her hands on her hips and stared up at him. "You'll do no such thing! That's my daughter, I'll take care of her!"

Chakotay did the same and stared down at her. "Ma'am, with all due respect, the reason why she ran out into the snow in her bathrobe in the first place was because you and her sister upset her. Kathryn has been through a lot in the last seven years and especially in the days since we got back and it's been hard on her. I don't know all the details of her debriefings as she isn't allowed to discuss them, but I know they were brutal. She's strong, incredibly strong, but even Kathryn has her breaking point. I'll go upstairs and take care of her and we'll be down for breakfast in a few minutes. Mrs. Janeway, you don't even know me so I really don't know why you don't like me, but you should know that I love your daughter, I would never hurt her and, as long as she wants me to, I'll take care of her."

Gretchen slapped him hard across the face. "You bastard, how dare you talk to me that way! I want you out of this house right now!"

"Yes, Ma'am, of course I'll leave, but can't I please wait until the day after tomorrow? Kathryn loves Christmas and she's been going on about spending Christmas at home for the last seven years, so can we please call a truce, not mention this to her, and not ruin her Christmas? Please?"

"Well all right!" Gretchen huffed. "It seems you have her brainwashed or something and she'd probably be fool enough to leave with you right now, but I'm sure she'll come to her senses by the twenty sixth. Let me make myself clear, I want you out day after tomorrow and I assure you Kathryn will not be going with you!"

It was obvious Gretchen had more on her mind, but Chakotay left her before she could go on, went up the stairs and found Kathryn in bed. He rushed to her, but she threw back the covers and waved him off. "I'm fine, I just jumped in to get warmed up. Put some dry socks on, put your slippers by the heat to dry and let's go down to breakfast."

"OK, but let me see your hands and feet, you didn't get any frostbite, did you?"

She showed him her hands and feet, "No, not at all, I was only outside long enough to run to the barn. The barn is heated enough so it stays above freezing inside and I wrapped up in the blanket right away; I'm fine, really. Only problem is it seems I left with two slippers and came back with only one, so can you dig around my blue duffel bag and find me a pair of socks, please?"

"Sure and, after I get dressed, I'll go look for your other slipper. Come on, let's go eat. I think I've already pissed off your mother enough, I don't want to add to it by being late to the table."

"OK, but first let me give you a hug." Kathryn wrapped her arms around Chakotay and held him as she continued. "Chakotay, I know my family has been rude to you and I'm very ashamed and I'm so sorry. If you want to leave, we can leave right after breakfast and I'm sure Nana wouldn't mind if we stayed at her apartment in town until we can figure something else out. Oh, and thanks for going out in the snow and looking for me."

"Always, Kathryn. C'mon, let's go eat!"

Christmas Eve breakfast was wonderful and it seemed that Kathryn and her mother and sister had put aside their earlier differences for the sake of the rest of the family. The mood was joyful and the conversation animated, except that Kathryn was the only one talking to Chakotay, save for an occasional few words from Nana Janeway. Apparently Nana had a hard time remembering that she wasn't supposed to like Chakotay. All of the children except one were young enough to still believe in Santa and shared their enthusiasm with the entire table.

After breakfast everyone dressed and launched their Christmas Eve activities. Gretchen and her sister chased everyone from the kitchen, cleaned up from breakfast and started making preparations for lunch and dinner while Phoebe and her husband took all the kids down to the big pond in the lower pasture to sled and ice skate. Kathryn's uncle fell asleep watching sports and her grandmother took advantage of all the children being out of the house for a couple hours and wrapped the rest of the presents that Santa would bring.

Kathryn took Chakotay to the attic and rummaged around to find him some proper warm winter clothes and boots to wear as he didn't have any of his own. She also found her own winter outerwear that she had stored at her mother's to use when she was home for winter visits. They were horribly mismatched and not very fashionable, but they went outside, satisfied that they would at least be warm.

Chakotay grabbed a snow shovel and asked, "Is this what your mother uses to clear the snow? It's a long path to the garage, how does she manage?"

"Well, the man that takes care of the livestock usually does it for her and he has a snow transporter, but he probably hasn't had a chance to do it yet. There's another shovel by the back door, I'll go get it and I'll help you; ancient technology works fine to clear snow, it just takes longer. With both of us working, it won't take long at all and we're supposed to get more snow tonight."

Kathryn and Chakotay started shoveling snow the old fashioned way as they continued their conversation. "What about the fire, Kathryn? Your uncle said he was going to light the fire, but I don't see any smoke coming from the chimney, so I don't think he has yet. When I get done I'll carry more fire wood up on the back porch and fill up the wood box."

Kathryn laughed, "Chakotay, you saw Uncle Charles, as long as there is anything on that involves people playing with a ball of some sort, he won't get anything accomplished, so we might as well do it ourselves. You do know how to start a fire, don't you?"

"Very funny, Kathryn," Chakotay replied as he tossed a shovel of snow at her. That was his first mistake. She threw down her shovel, made a snowball and caught him right in the face with it before he knew what happened. He tried to retaliate, but Kathryn had considerably more experience making snowballs and that, combined with her deadly aim, made her far more dangerous than she was on the bridge of a starship armed with a full compliment of photon torpedoes. Chakotay tried to fight back, but he didn't know that you had to take your gloves off and dig down to the older snow to make really hard snowballs and most of his efforts exploded in his face as he tried to force the newer powdery snow into projectiles. Kathryn kept pelting him and, when he knelt down to get a fresh load of snow, she took advantage of his tactical error, grabbed a huge chunk of snow, jumped on his back and crashed it over his head.

Unfortunately that was her mistake as she slipped before she could retreat, landing flat on her back and at his mercy. Chakotay put one hand on her chest to hold her down and threatened with a huge chunk of snow in the other as he said, "Surrender?"

"Never!" she shouted as she laughed and struggled against him.

He brought the chunk of snow closer to her face and grinned at her. "How about now, do you surrender?"

Kathryn suddenly reached up and shoved the chunk of snow into Chakotay's face as she made her escape. "Kathryn Janeway does NOT surrender!" She had a good laugh and collapsed into the snow next to Chakotay and held out her hand. "I would be willing to make a peace treaty, though. Deal?"

"Deal!" he replied as he shook her hand. "I should have known better, you have a lot more experience fighting with snow than I do, I was over twenty before I ever even saw any."

Kathryn jumped to her feet and brushed the snow off her hat and coat. "I never thought about it, but I guess I do have a tactical advantage, don't I? Don't worry, I'll make sure you know more than you ever wanted to know about snow before we leave. Well, what do you say we finish clearing the walks and then have a snowman building competition? Phoebe and I always did that on Christmas Eve when there was enough snow, so it's tradition. Well, judging by all the snowmen in the front yard, they had the competition early this year."

Chakotay dusted himself off and resumed shoveling. "Well, I've never built a snowman either, so how about you show me how and we can work on one together?"

Kathryn stopped shoveling and giggled, "Really, you've never built a snowman?"

He stopped as well and leaned on the shovel. "No, Kathryn, I haven't. I grew up in a tropical climate, remember? I don't think any of my ancestors ever saw any snow either, we're warm weather people and, except for the Starfleet Academy cold weather survival training I had, this is probably the most time my gene pool has spent in the snow. Unfortunately, snowman building wasn't a required Starfleet course."

"Well, now it is, so let's hurry up and then we can move on to snow angels!"

Kathryn and Chakotay stepped back from their snowman and gave him a good look. Chakotay, being a traditional artist, had enjoyed using a natural element to create a work of art and was quite impressed with their finished snowman. "I like him, Kathryn, he's much more detailed than the other ones on the lawn and taller too. I think we're going to have to fix his ears, though, he almost looks Vulcan to me and what about giving him a face?"

Kathryn dug down through the snow to the ground and handed Chakotay a pile of smooth dark stones. "Here give him a mouth and eyes and I'll go get a carrot for his nose and see if I can find an old scarf or hat or something for him to wear. I agree, his ears don't look right, but leave them, I have an idea!" Chakotay was still working on inserting stones for the snowman's mouth when Kathryn returned with a bag of carrots and a tattered old plaid scarf. "That looks good, but give him a really really big smile."

He finished and Kathryn nodded her approval, so Chakotay stepped back and let her work her magic on the finishing touches to their snowman. She wrapped the bright plaid scarf around his neck and tore into the bag of carrots. When she was done she joined him and asked, "Well, what do you think?"

When Chakotay stopped laughing he finally managed to speak. "Kathryn, I don't believe it, it's a snow Neelix!"

"Yes, it is," she said as she adjusted one of the carrots that formed the snowman's spiky orange Mohawk hairdo. "And I bet he's the only Talaxian snowman in Indiana, only one on Earth in fact!" She held up the empty carrot bag. "I also bet you're really upset I used up all the carrots on him, aren't you?"

Chakotay looked up and smiled, "Thank you, Neelix!"

"OK time for snow angels! I bet you don't even know what one is, do you?" Kathryn shouted as she ran off a few meters from "Neelix".

Chakotay was certain he knew, so he started rolling another big ball of snow. "Well, I can imagine, so, how big do you want this, Kathryn? Kathryn, my gods, what's wrong, did you fall, are you having a seizure?"

She held up her arms, "No, silly, help me up. I was making a snow angel, see?"

Ah, I do see, it does look like an angel! Well, I imagine it's close to lunch time, so why don't you go in and get warmed up and I'll fill the wood box on the back porch and be right in to start a fire?"

"OK. Oh, make sure you leave your boots on the back porch and don't track any snow in, that makes Mom ballistic. I'll leave your shoes by the door."

He smiled, "Aye aye! Your mom already hates me, I don't need to give her another reason to."

Kathryn grabbed Chakotay's arm before he could walk away, pulled him to her and gave him another hug. "Chakotay, she doesn't hate you, she just doesn't know you, that's all. Her behavior has been way beyond rude and I apologize for it, but I think, between the stress of the holidays and Starfleet taking so long to let me come home, she's angry and just well… kind of overloaded right now. Mom is almost eighty and slowing down, only she's having a hard time coping with the fact that she can't do as much as she used to. I told you, if you want to leave, we will, I don't have any problem with that.

Chakotay, sit down here a minute, I want to explain some things to you. You know about the Maquis thing and she'll get over that. You get crap for having been a Maquis and I get crap because Starfleet didn't initially do much about the Cardassians and that led to a lot of people being killed and the Maquis forming in the first place.

There's another issue I haven't told you about and I will as it'll help you to understand. Mark Johnson, the man I was engaged to when I left, is also home for the holidays and his parents live just down the road. According to Mom, he and his wife aren't getting along or are separated or something and Mom thinks it would be the perfect opportunity for Mark and I to get back together. I would like to see him, but I let go of Mark a long time ago and I have no desire to try to rekindle things with him and certainly wouldn't even contemplate such a thing while he was still married anyhow. Mom thinks the world of Mark and his family and she thinks he's the only decent man I ever brought home and she has always wanted me to get married, have kids and settle down. Considering what happened to Voyager, she's even more adamant now that I settle down, get a desk job and stay on terra firma. Apparently she and my sister have also taken the liberty of lining up several other eligible bachelors as a back up plan. Well, I guess you can see where I'm going, they just assumed I'd come home and be thrilled to get back together with Mark or date one of their Mr. Rights and they never thought that maybe I would come home with my own Mr. Right. OK, so maybe I'm being presumptuous here, but they're just having a hard time dealing with the fact that I want to date you and I'm not interested in what they picked out for me. Do you understand?"

Chakotay snuggled up closer and put his arm around Kathryn. "Yes, thank you for telling me, that explains a lot. Look, Kathryn, if you want to go see Mark and talk to him and see how the two of you feel after all this time and maybe spend some time together, that would be fine and I'll give you your space and wait for you. I'll do what I can to appease your family, but all I really want is for you to be happy."

"Thank you, Chakotay. I do want to see Mark while he's here, not because he's my ex-fiancé, but because he's an old friend I've known most of my life and so are his parents. You can go with me if you want to, but be assured that I don't have any romantic interest in Mark." Kathryn smiled, took Chakotay's hand, pulled him to his feet and gave him another hug. "As for being happy, I think I have everything that I need right here."

After lunch everyone left to visit and drop off gifts at various friends and neighbor's houses, leaving Kathryn and Chakotay alone with Nana Janeway. Kathryn got Nana situated on a chair near the fire with a cup of tea and her knitting and joined Chakotay on the sofa. "Lunch wasn't too bad, was it? I think Mom only shot you the death glare two or three times. Since we have a couple hours to ourselves, what would you like to do this afternoon?"

"Gosh, Kathryn, I don't know, whatever you want to do. Building a snowman was fun, would you like to make another one or maybe go for a walk?"

She sipped her coffee and chuckled, "No, I had my walk early this morning, remember? I don't think we could outdo our snowman, so, I know, how about we go ice skating on the pond? My brother-in-law cleared all the snow off the ice and Phoebe said it's just like glass."

Chakotay played with his earlobe and grinned, "I dunno, Kathryn, I don't know how to ice skate, fact is I've never even really been on ice. Besides, I don't have any ice skates."

She stood and held out her hand. "Come on, I'll teach you and there's a whole bunch of ice skates hanging up on the back porch, so just go find a pair your size." He wasn't budging, so she looked to her grandma for support. "Nana, tell Chakotay, ice skating is fun, isn't it?"

"Oh yes," Nana assured, "and I spent many a wonderful winter day skating on that pond when I was younger. Come here, Chakotay, I have something for you. Come here, I don't bite… unlike some people around here."

Chakotay looked at Kathryn, reluctantly rose and went to stand by Nana's chair. "Yes, Ma'am."

"Here, you looked ridiculous in that hat you had on earlier and it was too small too and made you look like a conehead, so I made you one, a nice warm one, in blue because Katie said it was your favorite color. Go on, see if it fits."

Chakotay tried the hat on and it did fit well and earned a nod of approval from Kathryn. "It's wonderful, Mrs. Janeway, thank you very much, that was so very kind of you."

"You're quite welcome, Dear, and please call me Nana like Katie does and Merry Christmas. I'm making you a matching scarf and mittens too, but it may take me a couple days to finish them."

Chakotay almost let a tear slip as it was the first time a member of Kathryn's family had been nice to him. "Thank you, Nana, thank you very much and Merry Christmas to you too."

Kathryn couldn't keep her tears back as she gave her nana a hug and a kiss. "Thank you, Nana, that was very sweet of you. OK, Chakotay, get out on the porch and find some skates that'll fit you and get your coat and all on and I'll be right there as soon as I get Nana some more yarn from her room. You're not getting out of going ice skating with me; it's fun, I know you'll love it!"

Kathryn joined Chakotay just outside the porch with her skates slung over her shoulder. "I like the new hat much better! Hold on for a second, Nana decided she wants to come with us, so we have to wait for her."

"Nana? Kathryn, the woman is over a hundred and walks with a cane at a snail's pace, do you really think it's safe for her to try to walk in the snow, especially all the way down to the pond? Maybe I should carry her or something?"

Kathryn laughed, "I don't think it'll be a ………" **WHAM! ** The porch door slammed open and they dove out of the way as Nana flew by them and sprayed them with snow. "……a problem. Nana has an all terrain hover chair, just be careful she doesn't run you over."

Nana gave them a ride to the pond on the platform on the back of her hover chair and parked so that she could watch them. To say that Chakotay was ungraceful, inept and totally devoid of natural talent on ice skates would have been too kind. Kathryn held onto him and tried to teach him the mechanics of gliding along, but he just couldn't get the hang of it and landed on his backside once again with a thump that was probably heard in Ohio. "That's it, Kathryn, I give up! I told you, all my ancestors lived in warm climates and they're probably all laughing at me right now. Face it, I'll never be able to skate, it isn't in my genes. Fact is there's only one thing I like about ice skating!"

"What's that?" Kathryn asked as she tried to get him to his feet again.

"That I get to hold hands with you! Go on and skate, I'll sit with Nana and keep her company. Skate as long as you want, I'll watch you." He gave her a cute little grin. "Go on, I like watching you almost as much as holding hands with you!" Kathryn tossed him a smile as she glided off and Chakotay sat on the bench next to where Nana had parked her chair as he traded his skates for his boots. "I tried, Nana, but I don't think I was meant to ice skate! Are you warm enough?"

"Yes, Dear, I'm just fine. Katie always was a good skater, she's so graceful, must be the ballet lessons she had when she was little, but I think she could skate before she could walk. Don't worry, it's hard to learn to skate when you're an adult and you did give it a good try. If you pile up some snow on the bench and sit on it, your backside won't hurt so much. I did think your snowman was quite a masterpiece, but then Katie did tell me you're artistic like she is, so that's to be expected." Nana took out a thermos and two small metal cups. "How about some of my special espresso to warm you up, Dear?"

Chakotay slipped off his gloves and held out his cup, "Yes, Ma'am, thank you, I love espresso." He warmed his hands with the cup before taking a sip. Tears came to his eyes as the espresso burned it's way down his esophagus and probably ate away the lining of his stomach. Chakotay coughed until he found his voice, "Uh, Nana, I don't think this is coffee."

"You're right, Dear, it's Irish whiskey." She took another sip and grinned. "Chakotay, how the hell do you think I get through the holidays with Kathryn's mother and all those kids around? There's only a dash of coffee in it to color it. More?"

"Uh, no, thank you, I don't really drink whiskey, Ma'am."

She shrugged her shoulders and took another sip. "Just as well, Katie never really took to it either. Chakotay, please don't let Gretchen and Katie's sister get you down. I can see that you love my granddaughter and make her happy and I happen to think you're a very nice man, in fact you remind me very much of Katie's father, and nothing would make this old lady happier than to see her with someone like you to take care of her. I overheard Gretchen talking to you and I really hope all of you can work things out, you don't leave and Gretchen comes to her senses."

Chakotay smiled and took Nana's hand. "Thank you, Nana, I hope so too, I don't want to ruin Kathryn's Christmas."

Nana drained her cup and smiled. "By the way, they all think I'm senile and I just let them because they wait on me and leave me alone and it makes my stays here much more pleasant, but let me assure you, I'm as sharp as I ever was."

Kathryn gracefully twirled up, came to a halt and stepped off the ice. Chakotay gave her a round of applause and a hug. "That was amazing Kathryn, you make it look so easy. I wish I could do that too, but I don't think there's much hope for me."

Kathryn sat on the bench, took off her skates and put her boots back on. "Thank you, but never say never, Chakotay. Whew, I'm not as young as I used to be, I'm tired and boy have I worked up an appetite for dinner."

Nana moved her chair in front of them. "Want a ride back?"

Remembering the wild ride down, Kathryn politely declined. "No thanks, Nana, I think we'll walk, but could you take our skates back for us?"

"Of course, Katie, and I'll make some hot cocoa for you to have when you get back, hide that dreadful fruitcake and put out the brownies." Nana started to leave, but turned around and stopped to face them again. "Take your time and maybe you two should hold hands on your way back, you know, to keep warm?" She winked and took off.

Chakotay stood and offered Kathryn his hand, "Maybe we should?"

She stood and took his hand, "Yes, I think we should, I'd like that."

"Kathryn, do you know your grandmother drinks whiskey?"

"Of course, who do you think filled her thermos for her?"

The rest of the family returned shortly after Kathryn and Chakotay got back to the house and the time away seemed to have mellowed them a bit. The kids made comments about the funny new snowman and Kathryn got her PADD and showed them pictures of Neelix as she and Chakotay told them about him. The kids were interested in hearing about Chakotay's people, but Phoebe shot him and unappreciative look, herded them away and started them playing some games before he had gotten very far.

Christmas Eve dinner was an amazing spread of home cooked food and everyone had seconds and most of them had thirds. Chakotay put more logs on the fire and the family gathered around and had coffee, cocoa and more cookies as Nana read the children 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. After the story was finished, the younger children went up to bed and Kathryn brought down more PADDs, showed pictures and told stories from some of the places Voyager had visited in the Delta Quadrant. When the last of the children went to bed, Gretchen filled their stockings while Uncle Charles got all of Santa's gifts out of hiding and placed them beneath the Christmas tree with the other presents.

Kathryn and Chakotay sat on the sofa, shared some wine and ate cookies until everyone else finally went to bed and left them alone. Gretchen gave them a disapproving look before she went upstairs, but they just dismissed it, not willing to let her ruin their evening. Kathryn moved to sit on the floor in front of the fire and patted the floor for Chakotay to join her. "Well, the day didn't start out too well, but I think it ended nicely, don't you, Chakotay?"

He sat beside her, put his arm around her shoulder and smiled. "Yes, Kathryn, I do. Despite the fact that there was more ice in here than there is outside, I had a wonderful evening and I really enjoyed all your family's traditions; it was just lovely, Kathryn."

"What was your favorite part?"

He thought for a moment. "I think it was seeing the kids' faces as Nana read them the story. I think I had read it before, but I'd never heard it read aloud like that. She did a wonderful job and it was just marvelous."

"Yes, Nana does a good job, but not quite as good as Daddy did. I can still remember him sitting in that same exact chair and reading it to Phoebe and me when we were little. I can also remember the year that I swear I saw Santa Claus too."

Chakotay laughed, "Did you have some of Nana's 'espresso' before you saw him?"

"Of course not, but I did see Santa, I really did! What was your least favorite part, aside from the bickering I mean?"

"That's easy too, fruitcake!" he replied as he stuck his finger down his throat and retched.

Kathryn laughed at that as fruitcake was not her favorite either. "Chakotay, if Santa were real and you could have anything you wanted for Christmas, what would it be?"

He looked at her and smiled as he pulled her closer. "Well, I really have everything that I want right here, but there is one thing more, Kathryn, except I'm keeping it between Santa and me."

She giggled, "Really, you want to keep secrets?"

He looked into her eyes. "Yes, Kathryn, aren't you supposed to do that at Christmas?"

"No, you're confused, it's only wishes you make when you blow out birthday cake candles that you're supposed to keep a secret. If I don't know what you want, how can I try to get it for you?"

"C'mon, it's late, let me help you clean up and let's get to bed. I already had a chat with Santa and I have it on good authority he's real, so I'm not the least bit worried."

As Kathryn came from the bathroom and sat on the edge of bed in the dark, she noticed that Chakotay was in her space. "What, are we switching sides of the bed every night?"

He moved over and turned back the covers for her, "No, not at all, it's chilly, I was just warming up your side of the bed for you, that's all. Kathryn, what's the agenda for tomorrow, Christmas Day?"

She crawled in and pulled up the covers. "Thanks, this is nice and warm, I appreciate it. Well, the kids will be up at the crack of dawn if not before, but they're not allowed to go downstairs until everyone is ready. I think Uncle Charles is going to be Santa this year and he'll hand out the presents and we all open and admire them together. While Mom and whoever is fixing breakfast, the rest of us clean up the mess and play with the kids until it's ready. She does a lot the night before and puts it in stasis, so it doesn't take too long.

After breakfast everyone gets dressed and the kids go outside to play until someone manages to drag them in. We just have a light lunch and the younger kids are so tired they usually take a nap, in fact most of us grab a nap. Dinner will be late and last for hours, so plan accordingly and I think a few more people will be here for dinner or drinks after and we do dress up, but your good suit will be fine. Watch out for the eggnog, Nana makes it, and, if you have more than two or three cups, you won't come to until after the first of the year."

"Thanks for the warning, I just wish you'd warned me about her 'espresso' too! Kathryn, what are you going to wear tomorrow? Kathryn?" Chakotay realized that Kathryn had fallen asleep, so he rolled back over and did the same.

Kathryn and Chakotay were awakened very early the next morning by a loud knock on their bedroom door. As they sat up in bed a sandy little head popped in and excitedly said, "Merry Christmas! Come on, hurry up, Aunt Katie and Uncle Chakotay, it's Christmas!

Phoebe's arm reached in and snatched the child away. "Just be patient, Sweetheart, and Chakotay is **not** your uncle!" Phoebe gave them a disapproving look as she slammed the door.

Kathryn bolted from the bed and made a colorful gesture at the door before she started crawling around on the floor. "Chakotay, have you seen my slippers? I can only find the left one."

He jumped out of bed and looked under his side before he realized, "Oh, no Kathryn, I forgot to go find your other slipper yesterday! Let me get dressed real fast and I'll go find it."

She laughed as she headed for the bathroom. "Forget it, it snowed again last night, you won't be able to find it until spring. I'll just wear my fuzzy socks and I bet Santa brought me a new pair of slippers! Oh, good morning and Merry Christmas, Chakotay!"

"Merry Christmas to you too, Kathryn."

Santa had indeed been to the Janeway farm and was very generous, so gift opening took well over an hour. The lion's share of the gifts were Kathryn's as she had missed the last seven Christmases. Chakotay sat behind her and kept her pile of opened gifts neatly stacked and made sure to keep the tags with them so she knew who had given her what. Kathryn was right about the new slippers, she now had three pairs, well actually three and a half pairs. She felt awful that she hadn't had the chance to do any Christmas shopping and had no gifts for anyone, but they all assured her that her being home was the best gift she could have given any of them.

As Kathryn got up to join everyone as they filed into the dining room for breakfast, Chakotay took her hand and pulled her aside as he slipped a small package from his bathrobe pocket and handed it to her. "Here, Kathryn, Merry Christmas."

Her eyes got moist as she looked at it and said, "Chakotay, I'm sorry, I don't have anything for you. Well, I mean I do, but it's in one of my cargo pods and they haven't been delivered yet. I'm so sorry!"

"Kathryn, it's OK, just getting to spend this day with you is more than I could ever want. Go on, open it."

She sat beneath the Christmas tree and opened the box. "Chakotay, I don't know what to say, they're lovely! These are from that planet we visited a couple months ago, aren't they? I know, they're from that little shop where there was a lady selling flowers outside. I admired them in the shop window and then you bought me some flowers, right?"

"Yes, Kathryn, that's exactly where they came from, I went back the next day and got them for you and I'm glad you like them. Come on, let's go eat breakfast before they miss us and one of us gets yelled at."

Kathryn leaned over, put her arms around Chakotay's neck and gave him a sweet but lingering kiss on the lips. "Thank you, Chakotay, Merry Christmas."

He smiled into her eyes, "No, thank you, Kathryn. Now I know Santa is real because you just gave me exactly what I asked him for! Merry Christmas."

After breakfast Kathryn and Chakotay joined most everyone outside to enjoy the fresh snow. After a brief group snowball fight, Kathryn went to the shed, brought out an old toboggan and handed it to Chakotay as they headed for the largest hill on the farm. "Let me guess, you've never been sledding either?"

"Actually, I have, sort of. At the arctic training center a bunch of us stole trays from the cafeteria and used them as makeshift sleds and they actually worked pretty well."

"No way!" Kathryn laughed. "That's so funny, when I was there we did that too."

"Cadet Janeway stealing from the cafeteria?"

"Well, I didn't personally steal any trays, but I may have clamped one to my fanny and slid down the hill behind the dorm a time or two. You want to sit in the front or back?"

"Back, you're the captain. Cadet Janeway, were there, by chance, any contraband alcoholic beverages involved when you were cafeteria tray sledding?"

"No comment!" Kathryn replied as she pushed off and sent the toboggan careening down the hill.

After a morning of sledding and a light lunch, a few people came to visit for a short time and eventually most everyone went upstairs for much needed naps. Kathryn awoke after only a short nap, so she quietly dressed for dinner early, went to the kitchen to see if she could help and found her mother basting the turkey.

"Oh, Mom, that looks just wonderful and smells even better! I know I'm not much help in the kitchen, but is there something I can do, set the table maybe?"

Her mother looked her over. "That's a pretty dress, Katie and your hair looks nice, but I do hope you let it grow back, and that's an absolutely stunning necklace. They're slightly faceted aren't they, very unusual, are they some sort of pearls?"

Kathryn held it out, "Yes, Momma, they're Delta Quadrant pearls, Chakotay bought them several months ago and gave them to me this morning. He saw me admiring them in a shop window and went back and got them for me, aren't they lovely?"

Gretchen went back to her cooking. "Humph, I bet he stole them! Katie, I went to set the table and there are two teaspoons missing from my silver flatware and I just know he stole them! Those damn Maquis are like that, you know, thieves and liars, and they take whatever they want! Look through his things and find them before he leaves."

Kathryn stormed out of the kitchen, quickly returned with a tray and slammed it on the counter in front of her mother. "He did not steal them, Mother, Chakotay doesn't steal things! Nana and I had some ice cream and I put the dishes aside and forgot to bring them back; here's your damn spoons! Now, is there anything I can help you with? Believe it or not, I know more about cooking than I used to, so how about I start the salad?"

"Suit yourself, Katie, but put an apron on first. I apologize about the spoons, but I still don't like him and I don't trust him. He may be Starfleet now, but once a Maquis, always a Maquis, and I don't care what you or Owen say. Use your brain, they didn't send Voyager out there to capture him because he was a nice guy, you know. I know Mark called earlier, what did he have to say?"

"Nothing, he just called to say Merry Christmas."

"Did he ask you out?"

"No, we didn't talk long, he had to go help his father clear the snow before their guests arrived."

"Didn't you ask him out? Now's the time, Katie, while he's home. Why don't you get rid of that man and invite Mark over this evening? He doesn't live in San Francisco anymore, you know."

"Yes, he told me and no, I didn't ask him out and I'm not going to. I'll say it again, Mom, I don't have any romantic interest in Mark Johnson anymore and it's mutual and I'm not interested in your parade of eligible bachelors either and the subject is closed for discussion, so let's just get on with making Christmas dinner."

Christmas dinner went on for hours as even more people came, largely to see Kathryn of course. Chakotay was glad to blend into the background and he and Nana actually had a reasonably good time playing chess and talking. He also managed to spend some time telling stories to the children while their parents were too occupied to notice. Chakotay had pleasant conversation with a few of the guests, as apparently somebody forgot to tell them that he was to be treated as a pariah.

Kathryn was very tired from all the Christmas activity, so the next morning it was late and the room was well lit with sunshine by time she woke up. Chakotay was gone, but she could hear him in the bathroom, so she dozed back into a light sleep waiting for him. She cracked open one eye as she watched him come out, put his nightclothes into his suitcase, then pick up the rest of his things from around the room and put them in as well. She sat up and smiled, "Good morning, going somewhere or are you just being a neat freak?"

Chakotay was startled as he thought she was still asleep. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't. Chakotay, you aren't packing are you? What are you doing dressed so early?"

He stopped and sat on the side of the bed. "Kathryn, your mother told me I had to leave on Christmas Eve, but I talked her into letting me stay until today because I didn't want to ruin your Christmas. I wasn't trying to sneak out and leave without talking to you or anything like that, I thought you were asleep so I figured I'd go ahead and pack quietly and talk to you when you got up. I'll beam to Starfleet and see if I can get quarters there."

Kathryn hopped out of bed and started throwing things into her suitcase. "Well then, I'm going with you."

He stopped her and sat her back down. "No, Kathryn, you stay here and enjoy your leave time with your family. I'll wait for you in San Francisco and we can talk every day and make plans, maybe get together for dinner or something. This is your mother's house and I'll obey her wishes, I don't want to cause any trouble… any more trouble."

"The only trouble is my mother and, if she's going to be that way, then I don't really want to be here either. I'm leaving too, we can beam right out and just get breakfast there. Come on, hurry up!"

No amount of talking would dissuade Kathryn and she, Chakotay and their bags were at the front door within half an hour. Gretchen dragged Kathryn into the kitchen and tried to reason with her, but it fell on deaf ears. "Kathryn, be reasonable about this and stay! You've been gone for seven years and we all want to spend time with you."

"No, Mom, as rude as most everyone has been to poor Chakotay, I think I'd leave anyhow, but you had no reason to throw him out, he's been nothing but polite. I invited him here and you had no call to treat him the way you did. We're going back to San Francisco and I'll figure something out there. I'm sorry, Mom, but I care about that man out there and I hope he and I are going to be a part of each other's lives and I am very sorry that you just can't accept that. Just so you know, he tried to talk me into staying here, he didn't ask me to go with him; it's my decision. I'll send you a message this evening when I'm settled. Goodbye, Mother."

With that Kathryn walked out into the hall, hugged her nana, picked up her bags, walked to the end of the sidewalk with Chakotay and they beamed away.

Nana shut the door and shuffled off down the hall mumbling, "I hope you're damn proud of yourself, Gretchen Janeway!"

/\


	2. Chapter 2

/\

When Chakotay and Kathryn stepped out of the transporter room at Starfleet, they found it to be almost deserted as many people still chose to take leave and enjoy the traditional end of year holidays on Earth.

Chakotay dumped his bags down and sat on a bench. "Kathryn, won't you reconsider? I told you…"

She sat beside him. "No, and I don't want to talk about it anymore OK?"

He gave her a little grin. "OK, pulling rank?"

"You see any pips on my sweater? I'm just being stubborn, you should be used to that by now and know it's not rank related. OK, do you want to head over to housing and see if we can get quarters?"

"Fine, but could I stop and check my messages first? And then maybe we could get some breakfast? It's earlier here, remember, and I don't think housing opens until 0900."

"OK, sounds like a plan.," Kathryn replied as she picked up her bags.

They sat at comm terminals and pulled up their messages as Kathryn hadn't checked hers in the last two days either. Chakotay leaned on one elbow and lazily scrolled through. "Wow, I'm a popular guy, I must have hundreds of messages… Merry Christmas, requests for interviews, real estate agents wanting to show me properties, I may be a winner, time shares on Risa, big discounts on new cars… oh, here's a job offer from the University of Chulu Raa, I wonder where that is?"

Kathryn pointed to the screen as he rapidly scrolled the list by, "Wait, go back, that one said Dorvan something or other, I think."

He scrolled back up, "Probably just some scam, I'm trying to find my sister through official channels and I've been getting junk from other places that promise to find her if I pay them a lot of money." It was a text only message so he opened it and read: "They located a woman named Kinna on Dorvan who is about the right age and fits the general description, she arrived in a refugee camp six years ago and was resettled….yadda yadda. It's not her, Kathryn, my sister's name is Suleya, it's just another false lead, I've gotten several of them." He clicked off the message and went on.

"No, Chakotay, go back, there was a picture attached and it was from the Andorian ministry of something or other, they wouldn't be scamming you. It may be wrong, but just look."

He went back, looked at the picture and his face went ashen as he touched the screen and tears slid down his cheeks. "That's her, Kathryn, that's her! The age, birth date and name are wrong, but that's her!" He pointed to the screen, "Her hair is grayer now, but look, when Suleya was twelve she fell out of a tree and split her chin open and Grandmother healed it in the traditional way, so she had a little crescent shaped scar. That's her, Kathryn, that's her, I'm sure of it!" Chakotay read the message again and uploaded it to his PADD. "She's in a resettlement village on Dorvan in the equatorial region. That makes sense, I think my village is still uninhabitable due to residual radiation."

Kathryn gave him a hug. "Oh, Chakotay, I'm so happy for you! Send her a message and let's go make arrangements to go see her."

Chakotay started working on his message. "OK, but they still don't have a functional communications array on Dorvan, so it'll probably be a long time before she receives it. The messages go to an asteroid base and then they're hand carried in by transport or supply ships, uploaded to central terminals and not read until someone goes to the community terminal to check for messages. Kathryn, I don't want to take all this stuff with me, can you keep some of it for me until I get back?"

"What? I want to go with you, Chakotay!"

"Kathryn, as much as I'd hate to leave you, it's a long trip and those resettlement camps and villages are very primitive and the weather in the equatorial region is ghastly hot and humid and it's still not all that safe there, judging by the reports I've read."

"Chakotay, I don't care about that, I just want to go with you. We both have plenty of leave, Owen can pull strings for us and we can put the rest of our stuff in storage. Go on with your message to her, I'll make the arrangements." She gave him a wry smile, "I'm Captain Janeway, remember, I have a little clout!"

The trip to Dorvan was unpleasant, but they got there the fastest way possible, taking a Starfleet shuttle to the nearest starbase then hopping various passenger and cargo ships the rest of the way to Dorvan. The last leg of the journey was on a small cargo ship full of chickens that landed in a clearing beside a small town.

As Kathryn stepped down the gang plank, the oppressive heat and humidity hit her. "Wow, you weren't kidding about it being hotter than Vulcan here!"

He gave her a grin, "Not only hotter, way more humid too. Want to go back in there with all those chickens?"

"Not a chance!" She looked around, "OK, what do we do now?"

"Well, have a seat here in the shade and I'll get you something cold to drink at that stand over there and then see about how we get to my sister's village, I'm not sure exactly where it is. Be careful, Kathryn, from what I understand it's not too safe here, there really isn't any government or reliable infrastructure yet and plenty of people who want to take advantage of that. Almost nobody here likes Starfleet, so I suggest you not mention it as you don't exactly look like a local. Oh, and speaking of which, put on some sunscreen before you get burned and try to stay in the shade."

Kathryn sat by their duffle bags under the shade of a tree and applied her sunscreen. Several men came and started carting away the crates of chickens and supplies the shuttle had delivered, but all of them just ignored her. The men were all much darker skinned than Chakotay, so she realized his lighter skin from being away from Dorvan for so long would probably also mark him as an off-worlder and she had no hope of blending in herself.

Chakotay came out of the trading post with a cloth bag and sat beside her. "Here, I got us hats, we'll need them, and more sunscreen. Here's a bottle of water, our word for water is 'ja', probably good for you to know. A lot of the wells and streams are contaminated, so try to only drink bottled water or put one of these purification tablets in it before you drink it, scan it at least. Most people here speak Federation Standard, but some of the older people don't and they aren't teaching it anymore, so little kids won't, and it's no longer used openly among our people. They blame the Federation and Starfleet for everything that happened here and nowadays people want to distance themselves from anything Federation related. Speaking of which, the trading post manager asked me about you and I said you were a scientist from Indiana University here to study the effects of radiation on the ecosystem. They have heard of Voyager's return here and some may be familiar with your name, so I suggest you don't tell anyone your last name is Janeway." He held out his hands as if he had handcuffs on. "Captain Janeway isn't exactly a national hero here!"

"I see," she giggled. "What's in those little bags?"

He opened one and dumped out the contents onto her skirt. "Coins. Except at trading posts like that one where off planet freight comes in, nobody here accepts Federation Credits anymore, they use coins or just barter and trade one thing for another. These coins should be OK anywhere in this region, he said."

"Wow, real money, that should be fun! What about your sister, did he know anything?"

"Yes. I showed him the picture and he said her name is Kinna, she lives in a small village called Kayja about twenty kilometers north and she comes here every week or so to sell vegetables and eggs. That makes sense, my sister was always the one that took care of our chickens because she loves birds. The good news is there's a bus that goes up there to her village; the bad news is it left about twenty minutes before we got here. So, we can walk or stay here and take the evening bus."

Kathryn looked around, "Is there a hotel?"

Chakotay rubbed his chin and laughed, "Not exactly, but the trading post manager said we could sleep in the warehouse once they move all that freight out."

"What about renting a car?"

"See any cars around here, Kathryn?"

She took a good look around at the town, which could have easily been from several hundred years ago. "Well, can we rent a donkey?" she asked with a grin.

He shook his head and laughed. "Sure, let's go to the nearest Starfleet Rent an Ass! I think just staying here and taking the bus this evening may be better. Kathryn, I don't know about you walking that far in this heat, you're not used to it."

She jumped to her feet. "Nonsense, let's go, I'll be fine!"

"Are you sure, Kathryn? It's still early, I don't think you have any idea how hot it gets here, we're quite literally on the equator. If you think it's hot now, trust me, you ain't seen nothin' yet!"

She extended her arm to pull him to his feet. "Don't worry about me, I'll drink plenty of water and I'll be fine and I'll just think of the snow back home to keep me cool. Come, on, let's get going, I've been on plenty of long hikes before. Is there a bathroom around here?"

Chakotay pointed to the nearest patch of woods. "That's about it, no public restrooms, I'm afraid, hardly any public services of any kind. You're overdressed, your skirt is fine, but just wear an undershirt or something like that and a thin long sleeved shirt over it to protect you from the sun and bugs and maybe put your hair up. When you're done we'll go back to the trading post and I'll get more water, some food and insect repellant. Do you have some better shoes for walking than those?"

Kathryn rummaged through her duffle bag, "Oh yes, I have these, they're sturdy and comfortable, but not likely to make a fashion statement!"

After about two hours of slow walking over a dirt road with rugged terrain, they sat and took a break to eat some food. They were both fatigued, but drinking plenty of water and pacing themselves well. Chakotay handed Kathryn a piece of fruit, "Here, eat this, they taste like pineapples. Are you doing OK?"

"I'm fine, but gods is it hot and steamy here! Look, here comes a wagon, maybe we can hitch a ride? What are those animals pulling it, yaks or something?"

Chakotay shaded his eyes from the sun for a better view. "I have no idea, I've never seen them before. I suspect it's something suited to hot weather that they imported when they were forced to colonize the equatorial region. Nobody lived here before because it's so hot. Stay here, I'll see if the driver will give us a ride to Kayja."

When the driver saw Chakotay he stopped the cart and they talked briefly, but Kathryn couldn't understand them. It did appear to be a friendly conversation, so she gathered their things as she was hopeful the man had consented to give them a ride. As she stepped onto the road, the man pointed at her, shouted at Chakotay and took off as fast as his animals could run. Chakotay threw his arms up and ran after the cart for twenty or thirty meters while shouting at the driver, but the cart didn't stop. Kathryn approached him and handed him his bottle of water. "Chakotay, what was that all about? He seemed friendly and then, when he saw me, he took off. Did I do something wrong, break some cultural taboo or something? What was he shouting at you?"

"Nothing, Kathryn, he didn't know we had so much baggage, he was afraid it would be too much weight for his cart, that's all. Come on, if you're rested enough let's get going, we still have a long way to go."

"Chakotay, tell me what he said, it was more than that, we only have our duffle bags and the bag with supplies."

He slung his bags over his shoulder and started walking. "It was nothing, Kathryn, he was just a crazy old man. Let's go, I don't want to be out here after dark."

They finally reached Kayja just as the heat of the day was starting to wane and it began to rain lightly. Chakotay led Kathryn to the protective canopy of a large tree beside a shop. "Stay here and rest, I'll get more water and get directions to my sister's house. Do you need anything?"

She flopped wearily to the ground. "No, I'm fine."

Chakotay came out of the shop a short time later and handed her a bottle and a small packet. "It's fruit juice, like lemonade, and a bean paste sandwich. My sister lives about three kilometers outside of town, that way," he said as he pointed to a small road that led up a hill. Let's eat and get going."

By time they finished their sandwiches, it was raining harder. As they set out on the small road, the rain seemed to intensify with every step and didn't let up until a small makeshift house was visible in a clearing at the top of a steep hill. Chakotay pointed to a profusion of red flowers growing on either side of the path that led up to the house. "Those are my sister's favorite flowers, this has to be the place!" Chakotay took Kathryn's hand as he hurried up the path as fast as they could go.

When they stepped onto the front porch, Kathryn sat on a bench off to the side and tried to wring out her clothes and hair. "I'll wait here, you go on ahead." He just stood and stared at her. "Go on, Chakotay, have your reunion in private then call me when you're ready. Go on, shoo!"

He sat his duffle bag and hat down beside Kathryn and she gave his hands a squeeze before he went to the front door and called. He called out 'Kinna' just in case he was wrong and this woman was not his sister. He heard noises inside and called again before he entered and came face to face with a mangled old woman he didn't recognize, who must have been at least seventy five or eighty years old. The woman stood motionless and stared at him with a look that he wasn't sure was fear or madness, so Chakotay extended his open hands in the traditional gesture of friendliness, showing that he was unarmed. The woman finally approached him and touched his tattoo lightly. "Are you Kinna?" he asked the woman. She shook her head and stepped back. Chakotay reached into his bag, pulled out his PADD and showed the woman a picture. "Forgive me, perhaps they gave me directions to the wrong house in town. My name is Chakotay and I am looking for this woman, do you know her?" The old woman just stared at the picture and Chakotay was beginning to doubt if she were in her right mind. "She is my sister, I know her as Suleya, but she may be using the name Kinna now. Please, do you know her, have you seen her?"

Chakotay heard a crash behind the woman and looked up. "Suleya?"

"Chakotay!" she screamed as she ran to him and he engulfed her in his arms. "Chakotay, my brother, is it really you?"

"Yes, it's me, how are you? Did you get my message I was coming? I've been looking for you since I got back! Oh, Suli, it's so good to see you again!"

She went to pick up the tray she had dropped. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I heard you talking to Atta and I thought you were here to buy eggs and I was bringing some tea." She motioned for the old woman to approach. "Atta, this is my brother Chakotay I told you about. Chakotay, this is Atta, she lives a little farther up the road." Suleya leaned in and whispered, "Chakotay, she doesn't speak, but she understands." Suleya motioned to some cushions on the floor as Atta cleaned up the things from the dropped tray and left. "Please sit." She gave him another hug. "Oh, Chakotay it's so good to see you again, I thought you were dead, you look just wonderful!"

Chakotay went to join her, but stopped before he sat. "Suli, I have a friend with me, may I bring her in?"

"Her, a woman, is she… your wife?"

He smiled and spoke quietly, "No, she's my best friend, but I would be very happy if she would be my wife one day. May I bring her in, please?" She nodded, so Chakotay went out on the porch for Kathryn and took her hand to lead her in. "Suleya, this is my friend Kathryn. Kathryn, this is my sister Suleya."

Kathryn smiled and said hello as she stepped forward and extended her hand. Suleya stared at Kathryn for a moment, turned her back and then left the room sobbing. "Chakotay, what is it, did I offend her, is it improper to shake hands here?"

"No, Kathryn, just have a seat and I'll go talk to her. She hadn't received my message yet, wasn't expecting us and I think she's just overwhelmed because she thought I was dead, that's all. Just wait here, you didn't do anything wrong, I'll go talk to her."

Chakotay went into the kitchen and found his sister standing on the back porch. "Suli, what is it?"

She turned and her eyes bore through him before she spoke quietly. "Chakotay, how can you bring her here as your woman? She… she isn't of our people!"

"I know that, but I have taught her of our ways and she respects them. I love her, Suli, should it matter what she looks like? I can't believe you'd hold such a prejudice, you know better than that; our parents didn't teach us such things!"

"You are right. War has taught me, invasions have taught me, experience has taught me. All I know is that everything that has befallen our planet has been at the hands of people other than our own. The Cardassians came and the Federation and Starfleet did nothing until it was too late. Even now, others come to rob, exploit and contaminate us. I trust no one but our own people."

"Suli, you can trust Kathryn," Chakotay assured as tears began to slide down his cheeks. "You can trust her, her heart and soul are the same as ours, she respects the same things, she honors our ways and she honors me by standing beside me. Please, come meet her, talk to her, get to know her and you'll see. Suli, you can trust me, I wouldn't lie to you, I'm your brother."

"Are you? My brother would not muddy our waters, he would not disrespect our ancestors," Suleya replied as she stared making tea"

"And my sister would not judge a woman she does not know, she would know that the heart and soul do not lie on the outside. Come, we had to walk here and we're tired, let's have some tea, rest and talk."

They sat and talked, although almost all of the conversation was between Chakotay and his sister. She kept lapsing into their language and he continually kept trying to bring her back to speaking in English so that Kathryn could understand. Suleya told Chakotay of how she was way out in the forest picking mushrooms and hid in a cave to survive the initial Cardassian attacks. She was eventually taken prisoner by the Cardassians, but managed to escape and again hid in the forest, surviving off the land. When help finally came, she was shifted from one refuge camp to another and eventually came to settle in the newly created village of Kayja. Almost all of their former towns and villages had been destroyed and were still uninhabitable due to contamination and residual radiation, which the Federation had promised to clean up, but never did. Suleya described her long search for her husband, children and other family members, which ultimately led to finding out they had all been killed.

"How long have you been here?" Chakotay asked as he looked around the house, which obviously wasn't new and was so poorly constructed it was already in need of repairs.

"About five years. I was in the big refugee camp at Ixta and they came asking for volunteers to go to a new place called Kayja. Well, it sounded like a nice place, so I came here. As you have seen, the only nice thing about Kayja is the name and most that came are now gone; only we outcasts remain."

Chakotay leaned to Kathryn, "Kayja means chanting water, the village is named for a waterfall nearby."

"It's a lovely name, I hope we can go see the waterfall, I love waterfalls…."

"No!" Suli interrupted, "It is a sacred place, **you** cannot go there!"

Kathryn bowed her head as it seemed she couldn't say anything right. "Of course, I apologize, I'll respect your traditions." Kathryn was interrupted by a pair of inquisitive dark brown eyes peeking around the curtain in the kitchen doorway. She looked up and smiled. "Hello, who do we have here?"

The little girl, perhaps six or seven years old, stepped into the room and knotted the skirt of her bright red dress into her hands as she stared down at her muddy feet.

"Tayla!" Suli screamed as she ran, grabbed the child and carried her away.

Chakotay jumped up. "Stay here, Kathryn, and I'll go talk to her. There's a clothesline in the yard, maybe you could hang up our things to dry? Please?" he added as he touched Kathryn on the shoulder.

"Of course, I understand, I'll stay outside so you can talk." Kathryn carried their duffle bags to the clothesline and started wringing out and hanging up the things that had gotten wet in the rain. Tears ran down her cheeks as she now felt even more like an interloper than she had before.

Chakotay and his sister returned to the main room and talked for well over an hour as they related more detail of what had happened over the last seven years to one another. When his ship disappeared in the Badlands she had assumed he had been killed. He had been looking for her ever since Voyager could contact Earth, but her status was officially listed as "missing-presumed dead" and he assumed she had been killed as few from their village survived. Suli had heard vague news of Voyager's return, but she had no idea her brother was on that ship.

Suleya poured him another cup of tea and gave him a hug. "My brother, I am very glad we found one another after all these years of each thinking the other had joined our ancestors. So, tell me about your… woman."

Chakotay took a sip of tea and laughed. "Suli, Kathryn is most definitely not 'my woman', when you get to know her you'll see she is very much her own woman. Please give her a chance, I know you'll like her. She had only spent two days with her family and left with me to come all this way to help me find you."

"Two days, did she come back with you? Is she Maquis too? How do you know her."

"No, Kathryn was not Maquis and I'm not either. The Maquis don't exist anymore, Suli, they disbanded years ago. Kathryn is Starfleet, I met her on Voyager, she was the captain. In the Delta Quadrant I lost my ship, she lost many of her crew and we decided to work together to get home."

"Well, Chakotay, you are home now and no longer need her, so send her away."

"You're wrong, I need her more than ever. Suleya, you should know that Starfleet offered the former Maquis from my ship full pardons. They offered me my commission back and I took it, I intend to stay with Starfleet."

"I see," Suleya said as she took the tea tray and headed to the kitchen. "You have not asked me about the child; are you not curious?"

He turned her towards him and held her chin in his palm. "I am, Sister, but I also know you and you will tell me her story when you are ready to. She has your smile and she has Father's eyes, her face tells much of the story, and I am very glad to have a niece and hope that I can be her uncle, if she wants one."

"You would claim her?" Suli asked in disbelief.

"Of course! Children are the gifts of our ancestors, I would be very proud, she's a beautiful child. Where is she?"

"I sent her to care for the chickens and gather the evening eggs and get some vegetables from the garden for supper, she should be back soon." Suli sank to the floor and started sobbing. "Oh, Chakotay, keeping her has cost me so dearly, I am shunned everywhere as most women gave their Cardassian children to the Bajoran relief workers when they came to relocate the orphanages. Such children are unwanted here, a reminder of shame, but I could not part with Tayla. Chakotay, she was all I had, I loved her too much. I look at her and only see the beauty and innocence of a child and not a reminder of Cardassian atrocities. I did not want to shame our family, so I changed my name and came here to live in the hills where we are forgotten."

Chakotay helped her up. "Here, Suli, sit at the table and have some water. I'm sure it's been hard for you, but I admire you for choosing to keep your beautiful child. I can see life has been a struggle for you. While I'm here I'll fix things up for you and I have some money, so I'll help you out and will continue to do so. If you want to go someplace else, I'll arrange that for you and, if you'd like to come back to Earth with me, you can do that."

She arose and started making preparations for dinner. "Thank you, but no, this is our home. I have never left our planet and I do not wish to. I was born here and I will live and die here as well and join the bones of our ancestors." She rinsed off her face and dried it on a towel. "So what can I make you for dinner? Life is hard here, but we have the blessing of plenty of food."

"Anything is fine, I'm famished. Suli, I can stay for a week or ten days or so, would it be all right if Kathryn and I stayed here? I know your house is small, so Kathryn and I can share a room."

"Her, that woman, you lie with her?"

"Yes, I lie with her, but we do not yet lie as one. As I told you, we are only friends, but we can share a room… and her name is Kathryn." Chakotay was interrupted by Tayla's arrival. She was dragging a basket of vegetables almost as big as she was, so he took it from her and placed it on the counter. Tayla shyly hid behind her mother's skirt.

She picked her up, sat her on a chair and knelt on the floor as Chakotay knelt beside her. "Tayla, this is my brother Chakotay, so that makes him your uncle. Remember, I told you stories about him? He's been looking for us for a long time, but he just found us today. Say hello to Uncle Chakotay." The child wrung her hands and grinned a bit, but she didn't speak. "OK, go and wash up for dinner please. I'm sorry, Atta is really our only friend and the poor old woman doesn't speak and people in town don't really speak to me or only say rude things to us and none of the neighbors will let their children play with her, so unfortunately she's very shy. Give her a chance, once she gets to know you, I bet you won't be able to shut her up; she talks more than Grandmother did."

"I'm sure we'll be friends in no time. Kathryn is very good with children, let me go get her and we'll wash up and help you with dinner."

"Where is she?"

"Most of our things got wet, so she hung them to dry and said she'd wait outside while we talked. Knowing her, she's probably admiring your beautiful flowers."

"Well, if you insist she stays, follow me. I only have two bedrooms, but you can stay in Tayla's room and she'll share with me, she likes that better anyhow. I'll put the extra things I have in there for you. I don't have a toilet yet, but there's an outhouse out back and you can draw water from the cistern, it's clean. I don't have a water purifier either and the tablets are too expensive, so make sure you only drink boiled water. I've got a solar power unit and batteries, but please try not to use too much power so that the refrigerator will run through the night."

"OK, and Kathryn and I will take a look at your power system in the morning as we may be able to make it more efficient for you. Kathryn is good engineer, I bet she can fix a lot of mechanical things for you and I'll do carpentry repairs."

"Thank you, but please don't let her touch things, they're fine the way they are. Keep the woman away from Tayla, she's afraid of outsiders."

"She's only afraid of them because you taught her to be. Our own people are the ones that ostracize you, I hope you'll think about that, Sister."

After a very strained dinner with little conversation, Suleya and Tayla turned in early, as was their custom, and left Kathryn and Chakotay sitting in the kitchen. Kathryn poured them both another cup of tea as she spoke quietly. "That was a delicious dinner, that was the same mushroom pilaf you make, wasn't it?"

"Yes, our mother taught us to make it. Kathryn, I'm sorry she treated you like she did, she's not the same woman I knew."

"It's OK, she's obviously been through a lot and she blames Starfleet and I'm Starfleet, so no wonder she hates me. You did tell her who I am, didn't you?"

"Yes, but that's not the problem." Kathryn gave him a confused look, so he went on. "Kathryn, the reason my sister doesn't like you isn't because you're in Starfleet. She knows I've chosen to stay too and, although she's not happy about it, she accepts it. Kathryn, the reason she doesn't like you is because you're not… one of our people, that's all."

"You mean, because I'm White?"

He grinned. "You know it doesn't matter to me, but apparently it does to her. It was never that way before, but things have changed here and many of my people are now distrustful of outsiders, to the point of being isolationists and racists. It's really pretty stupid, Suli and I had some White ancestors, so we're not pure Indian and neither are many of my people. Well, that's part of it, apparently there is a strong racial purity movement now. Kathryn, my sister and I were not raised that way, but what she has been through has changed her. After the initial relief workers left, by all accounts too soon, most of the outsiders that have come to Dorvan since only do so to exploit the planet and the people. This was once a friendly planet that welcomed everyone, I hope it will be again one day."

"As do I. Chakotay, I don't want to make things difficult for you, so maybe it would be better if I left? That's why the man wouldn't give us a ride in his wagon, isn't it, it was because of me?"

"Yes, that's why the man wouldn't give us a ride. Kathryn, please don't leave. Well, I mean go ahead if you're uncomfortable here or want to go back home, but I'd prefer you stayed. I checked when we arrived and the next ship isn't due for three days, so you'll have to stay that long at least. There's only one regular transport a week here, the rest is just hitching rides on cargo vessels, usually at exorbitant prices and dubious safety. Don't worry, once Suli gets to know you, she'll probably realize just how amazing you are." He smiled as he squeezed her hands.

"Thanks! Well, as 'amazing' as I allegedly am, I'm also hot, dirty, sweaty and very very tired, so is there some place I can take a bath or a shower?"

"Sure, follow me." He led her into Tayla's room. "This is our room, it's small, but there's two windows so we get a nice cross breeze. I put our bags over there in the corner. I take it you don't mind sharing a room? The house is small, there are only two bedrooms, but I can sleep in the living room if you want."

She looked around as she took her nightclothes and cosmetics bag out of her duffle bag. "No, I'm getting kinda used to having you for a roommate. This room's cute, I like how she has it decorated, it's bright and cheerful and lovely for a little girl! Chakotay, there's no bed, where do we sleep?"

Chakotay slid open the closet and spread a futon and some sheets and pillows out on the floor. "I'm afraid this will have to do, my sister is traditional and they sleep on the floor. I don't think she can afford beds either." He grinned and shrugged his shoulders. "Think of it as camping, Kathryn! OK, OK, I know you hate camping! Here, I'll show you where you can wash up." He grabbed a towel from a small table in the corner of the room, led Kathryn to the back porch and poured water from a bucket into a basin on a table. "You can wash up here, I'll go wait in our room and give you your privacy."

Kathryn looked around. "Right here, on the back porch, out in the open? You mean there's no tub or shower or anything?"

"Well, no. Hold on a minute," he replied as he ran back in the house and quickly returned. "Here, I'll hang up a sheet on the back porch clothesline, that'll give you some privacy, but the nearest neighbor is more than a kilometer away, so you don't really have anything to worry about. Here's a bottle of water for you to brush your teeth with and the outhouse is right up that path and has a solar light inside and here's a little flashlight."

"Outhouse? I know, I know, just like camping!" Kathryn washed up, put her nightgown on and visited the outhouse, which was actually rather nice as they go, and returned to their room. "Wow, you put up a tent! OK, your turn."

"It's not a tent, Kathryn, it's a mosquito net and you'll be glad it's there. I'll be right back, please make yourself comfortable. Do you need anything?"

She smiled as she settled into the bed and he closed the mosquito netting around her, "Just you."

The next morning Chakotay awoke early and went to an empty kitchen, but a pot of tea and a bowl of fruit was sitting out, so he knew his sister was already up. There was only one cup and plate beside the tea pot, so he also knew she had made another editorial comment. He poured himself a cup of tea and started to eat a piece of fruit as she retuned with a basket of eggs and greeted, "Good morning, Chakotay, I just gathered fresh eggs, I bet you haven't had a really fresh egg in years!"

"Good morning, Suli! There are no eggs as good as yours, but, believe it or not, I had fresh eggs at Kathryn's mothers house; she raises chickens too. Kathryn grew up on a farm, she knows about keeping chickens and gardening just like you do. Perhaps, if you'd give her a chance, you'd find out the two of you have a lot in common."

"I saw she hung a sheet up on the back porch by the washstand. What, is she too shy and prissy to bathe outdoors? Where is she, anyhow? Is she lazy, does she sleep all day too? What kind of woman doesn't get up before her man does?"

"Suli, stop that! Come sit and have tea with me. Kathryn was very tired and she's not used to a hot climate or walking so far and our trip here was difficult. She was still asleep when I woke up and I left her. She isn't lazy, she works hard, harder than I do. I put the sheet up for her, she's not used to bathing outdoors and she is shy. I've never even seen her naked, her people have different ways and they generally bathe in private. She is not 'my woman', she is my friend, I told you that. Where's Tayla?"

"She's in the back yard, she studies her spelling words until I call her for breakfast. There's a school in town, but they won't let her or the others like her go, so I have to teach her at home, but she's very bright. She's also a very good artist, so perhaps she takes after her uncle? I know that she will never have a husband, so I am teaching her both our language and Federation Standard because I hope she can grow up to have a business, maybe eggs, and she'll have to be able to speak both for that and she knows some Andorian too. How many eggs would you like?"

"Oh, four maybe, I'm pretty hungry. Suli, I noticed she didn't have many books, PADDs or toys in her room, I'd be glad to get her some. What time does the bus come? Kathryn and I will go into town and get some things for you, so please make a list of what you need."

"We manage fine, I trade eggs and vegetables for what we need, so you don't have to do that."

He got up and gave his sister a hug, "I know I don't have to, I want to. Starfleet pays me well, I told you, I can afford to help you and Tayla out. Now, what time does the bus come?"

"At 8 more or less, you better hurry, you have to walk back down the hill to the road to catch it. Go get dressed and I'll have your breakfast ready when you get back. It's like it used to be, just wave at the bus and the driver will stop."

"OK, thanks. Uh, do you have any coffee?"

"No, they vaporized all the coffee plantations and it's all imported now and too expensive. Some people are trying to raise coffee again, but the old varieties of coffee trees won't grow in this climate. I have tea, the land provides it for me. You never liked coffee before, Chakotay."

"Well, I like it now! I'll be right back." He dressed quickly and tried halfheartedly to wake Kathryn, but she was exhausted and not about to get up and would never be ready in time to go with him. He hated to leave her, but he figured, if she could stare down the Borg, she could stand his bigoted sister for a few hours, so he left her a note on his pillow. Chakotay ate his breakfast quickly as he talked to his sister. "Suli, Kathryn is still asleep and she's very very tired, so I left her a note. You don't need to wait on her, she can take care of herself, but would you please try be nice to her, for me?"

"Yes, I will, but I have work to do, I have beans ready to be picked."

He grabbed his bag and ran for the door. "Thank you and I'm pretty sure she knows how to pick beans!"

When Kathryn awoke, she read Chakotay's note, quickly dressed and headed for the outhouse. On her way back she saw Suleya and Tayla out working in their vegetable garden, so she greeted them. "Good morning, I'm sorry I slept so late, I hadn't had a good night's sleep for a while and it caught up with me."

Suleya didn't look up from her work as she spoke, "My brother left you a note, he took the bus into town."

"Yes, thank you, I saw it. Suleya, would it be all right if I had something to eat and then I'll come out and help you?"

"Suit yourself, woman."

"Kathryn, my name is Kathryn."

Suli didn't reply, so Kathryn went and fixed herself some breakfast, applied plenty of sunscreen, put her hat on and joined them in the garden. "May I help you pick the beans?"

Again Suli kept working without looking up. "Do you know how to pick beans?"

"Oh yes, I grew up on a farm, I know how to tend and harvest a vegetable garden and I also know how to take care of chickens and gather eggs. My family has chickens too and we always had a large vegetable garden as well." Kathryn retrieved a basket from a pile beside the garden and started picking beans. "I don't know if Chakotay told you, I'm from Bloomington, Indiana, on Earth, that's near Ohio where his cousin lived." Her attempts at conversation were getting her nowhere, but she gave it another try. "I have a sister named Phoebe, she's younger than me and she's married and has three children. She's an artist and her husband is an architect and they live near Paris. My mother is a mathematician and still lives on the farm, but my father passed away a long time ago. Mom has chickens, horses, a milk cow and some pet goats too; all of us love animals." Kathryn took a break, stood and took her hat off to wipe away the sweat. Tayla looked at her and hid a grin. Kathryn smiled back, realizing she may have better luck making friends with the child and could win her mother over that way. "You have a very pretty smile, Tayla."

Tayla finally spoke for the first time, "What happened to your hair, Lady?"

"My hair? Oh, it's just dirty and sweaty and I need to wash it tonight."

Tayla giggled, "You have hair like a man and it looks like it rusted."

"Tayla!" her mother admonished. "Please go get another basket."

"It's all right, now I understand what she meant. Tayla, I was on a long trip and didn't have the time to take care of my hair properly, so I had to cut it off. It was long like yours and your mother's before and I'm letting it grow back. I hope it'll be as long and pretty as yours is when it grows back and it is kind of rusty colored, isn't it?" Kathryn picked up the full basket of beans, struggled to carry it to where the others sat in the shade and brought back more empty baskets.

Kathryn continued working and was really suffering as the heat and humidity escalated. At midday Suleya gave no indication that she was going to stop for lunch and Kathryn began to wonder if they even ate lunch or took breaks. Chakotay's sister was a large, sturdy, well muscled and heavy boned woman and she looked like she could work hard all day. She noticed they had almost picked all the beans, so she gritted her teeth and hoped that they would take a break once they had finished.

Kathryn took a sip of water and leaned forward as she choked on it.

"Lie back, woman, you fainted," Suli said as Kathryn realized she was now in a hammock in the shade. She opened her eyes, but saw a bucket of water coming at her and closed them again. "That will cool you off. Lie here and rest until I finish carrying the beans into the shed so they don't get wet and I'll go fix some lunch." Suli tossed Kathryn a towel and a canteen of water and looked at her with her wet clothes plastered to her. "There's not much to you, woman, no wonder you can't do any hard work!"

She sat up and protested, "Suleya, I can, I'm just not used to the climate here, that's all, and I need to rest and drink water every so often! Please, I'm sorry, I'm feeling better now, I'll help you put the beans in the shed and to make lunch. I want to help, but it will take me a few days to get used to the climate, that's all; it was winter back on Earth when we left."

Suleya headed to carry the baskets of beans to the shed with Kathryn in tow. "Fine, we put away the beans, we eat, and then we work until it starts to rain, then it is time to rest. When the rain stops we work again until it is dark and then we eat supper, then Tayla and I do her lessons and we go to bed. That is life here."

Kathryn struggled to lift the baskets of beans that seemed to require no effort from Suleya. "What time will Chakotay be back?"

"In time for supper."

After the monsoon siesta, as Kathryn dubbed it, they went back into the garden and weeded and cultivated until the sun started to set. Kathryn carried the tools to the shed as Suli gathered some food for dinner and Tayla went to care for the chickens.

Kathryn washed up and joined them in the kitchen. "May I help you with dinner?"

Suli put a bowl of vegetables, a knife and a cutting board on the table. "Here, chop these into small pieces."

She also sat a bowl of beans on the table in front of Tayla and the child began shelling them as she asked. "What is it like where you come from?"

Kathryn thought about home and smiled. "Well, it's not as hot as it is here and it only rains sometimes, not every day. It's winter there now and there was lots of snow when we left."

"Snow?" Tayla asked. Her mother translated the word into their language for her. "Snow, I know!" she exclaimed as she ran off, quickly returned with a book and showed Kathryn a picture. "This is snow, right? Snow is cold like ice?"

"Yes, Sweetheart, it is, but it's very soft, it's not hard like ice and it falls from the sky like rain." Kathryn thumbed through the old book, but didn't recognize where any of the places pictured were and couldn't read the text. "Tayla, can you read this?"

"I can read, but I can't read this; it's from the funny blue ladies. I want to see snow one day!"

"Andorian nuns," Suli corrected, "Some Andorian nuns used to come here and bring us things, but they left last year. We can't read the Andorian books, but she loves to look at the pictures and make up stories about them."

Kathryn's eyes lit up. "Stories! Your Uncle Chakotay tells wonderful stories too, maybe he'll tell us one tonight? You like to draw pictures too, don't you?"

"Yes, Lady, I want to be an artist when I grow up."

"Please, Tayla, my name is Kathryn, won't you call me that?"

"Kat-rin?"

"Almost, it's Kathryn."

"Ka-rin"

Kathryn giggled, realizing the child's missing front teeth probably made the TH sound hard to say. "Well, if it's easier, you can call me Katie if you want, my niece and nephews call me Aunt Katie."

"OK, will you tell us a story about snow after dinner, Aunt Katie?"

Suli rushed over, glared at Kathryn and then her daughter. "She is not your aunt, Tayla, you will call her Ma'am. Now go put your book away and finish shelling the beans!"

As they sat down to dinner Kathryn asked, "Shouldn't Chakotay be home by now?"

"Yes, he should, he should have been home almost an hour ago. I hope he didn't miss the bus and try to walk. It isn't safe on the roads at night like is was before."

When they finished dinner Kathryn went outside to look, but there was no sign of Chakotay. She went back in the kitchen and asked, "Suleya, is there some way to call someone in town to check on him?" She shook her head as she put the dishes away. "I'm worried, I'm going to go look for him, he's more than two hours late. Do you have a lantern or something I could borrow?"

"No, you can't go to look for him, it's very dangerous at night, especially for women; there are robbers… and worse on the road. Stay here, he will come back. Here, put this lantern on the front porch to help him find the house.

Kathryn took the lantern, lit it and started for the porch. "No, I'm going to go look for him, I'm worried." As Suli started after her, Kathryn ran off into the night.

By time Kathryn got down to the main road she wished she had taken the time to get some water and put on insect repellant as she was already thirsty and being eaten alive. As she stepped on another sharp stone she also realized shoes would have been a good idea. She walked along the road towards town for about twenty minutes before she heard someone approaching, presumably on horseback. Heeding Suli's warning, she hid in the brush on the side of the road and put out the lantern. The moonlight was enough she could see that it was an old fat man riding a donkey-like animal, definitely not Chakotay.

When she was sure he was well down the road, she realized she had put out the lantern and had no way to relight it. Kathryn giggled to herself at how much Starfleet had spent and apparently wasted on her training and set out again. After another fifteen minutes or so, she could hear a wagon coming, so she once again hid along the side of the road. The canopy of trees there was thicker and she really could only see it was a big wagon, pulled by two large animals and it looked like there were two big people in front and the back was full of things. As she crouched down and the wagon passed by her, Kathryn could hear a man speaking in the local language, but it was too dark to see any detail of what he looked like and he sounded like he was drunk. The wagon hit a rut and he yelled out something and the other man laughed.

"Chakotay!" Kathryn screamed as she ran after the wagon; she would know that laugh anywhere. "Chakotay, stop!"

He yelled at the driver, jumped down from the wagon and hugged her. "Gods, Kathryn, what are you doing out here at night by yourself? Don't you know it's not safe? Didn't Suli tell you?"

She held onto him tightly as well. "Yes, don't blame her, she told me not to go, but you should have been home hours ago and I was so worried."

He led her back to the wagon and the driver began to point at her and shout, but Chakotay handed him some coins and he finally grunted and allowed both of them onto the wagon, drove them home, helped unload some things onto the front porch and left.

Suli rushed out to meet them. "Chakotay, I was worried!"

He gave her a hug, "I'm sorry, I missed the bus and thought I'd have to spend the night in town, but I finally got him to give me a ride back for some money and a bottle of liquor. It's late, go to bed, I'm fine and I'll get myself some supper."

Kathryn started for the kitchen, "I'll go fix you a plate, say goodnight and wash up and it'll be ready in a minute."

Suli took Chakotay aside and they talked quietly on the front porch. "I am glad you're safe, the roads are dangerous at night now. I told the woman not to go after you, but she would not listen to me and she left after we ate dinner."

Chakotay chuckled, "Well, I told you she's stubborn."

"Yes, and she is also foolish and weak. Chakotay, she fainted today while picking beans and I had to carry her to the hammock and throw water on her to revive her. What kind of woman can't so much as pick beans? She is small and frail, her hips are narrow and her breasts small, she will not be able to bear you strong children. If you want a woman, why not chose one from our own people, a younger woman, a good strong woman?"

Chakotay gave his sister another hug. "Suli, she's not used to our climate and our kind of work, that's all. Yes, she is small, but it's a grievous mistake to underestimate her, as many in the Delta Quadrant can tell you. If you would just set your prejudices aside and open your eyes, you would be able to see what I see. Do you not remember the legend of the hawk and the sparrow? Just wait and trust your brother, you will see! Go to bed, Suli, it's late and I'm hungry; we'll talk tomorrow."

When Chakotay sat at the table Kathryn slid a plate of food in front of him and put one on the table for herself too and started eating it as fast as possible. He just watched her and finally asked, "Kathryn, didn't you eat dinner? My sister said you had dinner, was she lying, didn't she feed you?"

"Yes, of course, but I didn't eat much because I didn't want her to think I was eating too much food; she hates me so. What did you buy? It looked like a lot of stuff."

"Kathryn, the one thing my sister definitely has is plenty of food, you can eat all you want. She also told me you fainted today, care to tell me about that? Are you sick?"

"No, it's the heat, I think, and I didn't drink enough water. I'm fine, I'll be more careful tomorrow. What did you get in town?"

"You had better be more careful, Kathryn! Well, I got a water pump, pipe and a water purification unit and I ordered everything so I can add a full bathroom. If you help me, we can at least set it up so they have clean running water in the kitchen by tomorrow night. I also got a really good solar power unit, so she'll have plenty of power and be able to store it and I got some ceiling fans. I got all sorts of household items she needs and some school books and toys for Tayla. I wanted to get her a computer, but they didn't have any, so maybe I can bring one next time I come? Oh, and I also got some coffee."

Kathryn jumped into his lap and threw her arms around his neck. "Coffee! Oh, Chakotay, I think I love you!"

Chakotay put his arms around her waist and gave her a grin. "Well, when you're sure you love me, get back to me, OK?"

She smiled and gave him a kiss. "I'm sure I love you."

He returned her kiss, "I love you too, Kathryn."

The next morning, right after breakfast, Suleya and Tayla headed into town to sell their beans with Atta and her wagon. As Chakotay and Kathryn helped them load up the wagon she noticed the colorful textiles Atta had in baskets and asked the old woman, "Atta, these are lovely, did you make them?"

Atta nodded vaguely and climbed into the front of the wagon.

Suli unfolded a tablecloth to show it off. "Atta is a very skilled weaver, she makes the most intricate and beautiful things I have ever seen." Kathryn touched the cloth and nodded in agreement. "Do you know how to weave?" Suli asked.

"No, but I would certainly like to learn, this is just beautiful!"

Suli grinned at Chakotay and rolled her eyes as she replaced the tablecloth and climbed into the wagon. "We will return in time to make supper."

Chakotay and Kathryn got right to work and it didn't take them long to install the water pump, filtration unit and a tap so Suleya could draw pure water right from her kitchen sink. Such technology was available on Dorvan, but it came at a high price, too much for Suli to afford with her meager income from raising eggs, vegetables and weaving. The Cardassian attacks and devastation had led to a complete collapse of the economy and infrastructure on Dorvan. The surviving inhabitants had to move to the equatorial region and start over, without the benefit of a functional government or any well organized relief to assist them. Various agencies had come and provided some relief and assistance, but not enough as the Dominion Wars had left so many planets in need, there was just not enough assistance to go around and Dorvan soon fell through the cracks. Many people left the planet and those who remained had no choice but to essentially live as their people had hundreds of years ago. Even the Ferengi investigation team had left Dorvan as they saw no profits to be made there. Dorvan was a beautiful lush planet, but it had a small largely rural population and very few natural resources that were of interest to the rest of the galaxy.

When they were finished, Chakotay and Kathryn took a break for lunch and then scouted for a good location for the new solar power generator. Kathryn pointed up. "I think the center of the roof would be a good spot, it gets sun almost all day and would protect the unit from floods as well. With all the rain they get here, flooding must be a problem."

"I don't know," Chakotay replied, "but I think it makes sense too. "I saw a ladder behind the storage shed, I'll go get it and it shouldn't take us any time at all to get the unit up there and installed. With this, she should have all the power she needs and be able to run most anything she wants, even a small replicator, if I can get her one."

"What do you mean, didn't that store or trading post or whatever you call it have replicators?"

"No, they pretty much only have very basic and primitive supplies. Few people here could even power a replicator as, from what he told me, most people generate their own power, and, of those, almost none of them could afford one. He can't afford to stock what doesn't sell, so you can buy shovels, cooking pots or nails, but you can't buy things like replicators. I had to pay for the supplies for the bathroom up front before he would order them, but they should be here by time I can come back, assuming we get the leave promised after the next round of meetings and debriefings."

"I wouldn't worry, Owen assured me we would. Are you going to tell your sister about the bathroom or surprise her?"

"Surprise her, if I tell her, she'll say no. She's stubborn, just like another woman I know and love," he grinned. "Now, help me get this thing on the roof so we can get done before it rains. You doing OK, need a break?"

"No, I'm fine!" she reassured as she tied a rope around the unit so he could pull it to the roof, as antigravs were another of the many things Suli didn't have.

They finished installing the solar power generator on the roof just as it started to rain and went inside to complete the job. Chakotay installed the fans while Kathryn unpacked the household items and things for Tayla and put them out.

Kathryn called out, "Chakotay, come and look at this, it looks like Christmas again! These books you got Tayla are wonderful, she loves books and most of hers are old used ones some Andorian nuns gave her, so they're in Andorian and she can only look at the pictures. It was so sweet of you to get all these things for them."

Chakotay joined her and looked over the array. "Wow, looks like I did go a little crazy, didn't I? Must be Christmas spirit! Well, Suli needs so much and I'm lucky I can provide it for her and I'm not sure she believes me yet, but I don't care how Tayla came into this world and I'll provide for her too. You've spent more time with Tayla than I have, do you have any better idea what she needs or wants?"

"Well, she is starting to open up to me a little every now and then, although I can't say your sister is too happy about that. She likes books and storytelling and drawing, that much I know, and she must like dolls as she has some in her room and they look well loved and cared for. I think she's fond of animals too, but I gather the other children don't play with her, so her dolls and the chickens may be her substitute friends. I think these schoolbooks you got for her are right, I overheard your sister working with her last night and she sounds like she is at about second grade level maybe."

"Keep your eyes open , Kathryn, for other things they need, make a list and we'll make another shopping expedition before we leave. Well, why don't we wash up and take a little nap and start dinner early and surprise them and have it ready when they get back. I'll make some of those dishes I've been telling you about for the last seven years and why don't you make something too? I told my sister you're a good cook."

"You lied?"

"Maybe just a slight exaggeration. I also told her you know all about farming, that's not an exaggeration."

"Yes it is! You saw our farm, it's small, my parents had jobs, the farm was just a hobby… and not one that interested me all that much. Mom's a health nut and thinks fresh food is better, so she raised her own vegetables, fruits, eggs and milk. The livestock was really pretty much pets and Daddy enjoyed growing enough to feed them with that old tractor his grandfather owned. I learned a little by osmosis, but I'm no expert in farming; it wasn't exactly on the curriculum at Bloomington Preparatory Academy!"

Chakotay gave her a hug, "Well, I happen to think you're adorable and I bet my sister will too in no time!"

The women returned on time, Atta stayed for dinner and it became evident the woman was Tayla's surrogate grandmother. Suli had gotten a good price for her beans and bought supplies to make the rapidly growing Tayla more clothes, a new mathematics text for her as well and a power cultivator that she had apparently been coveting for weeks. The dinner was delicious and Chakotay gave more credit to Kathryn for it than was due, but he knew his sister would respect her more if she at least had one traditional domestic skill. Suleya chastised Chakotay for going way too far with all the gifts, but she was also delighted to easily have safe water to drink right inside her house and she was very appreciative of the fans as well. Tayla was delighted with everything and had not one complaint.

Atta went home after dinner and the three women sat while Chakotay told stories of their adventures in the Delta Quadrant. The story of Neelix was easily the most enjoyable one and, by the end, Chakotay was doing a reasonably good impression of the Talaxian that had Tayla rolling on the floor with laughter and swearing that her uncle had just made it up as it couldn't possibly be true. He finally brought in Kathryn's PADD with pictures to prove to her that Neelix really existed before everyone turned in for the night.

The new ceiling fan enabled Kathryn to get the first good night's sleep she had had in days and she woke before Chakotay, dressed and went into the kitchen. He knew she was up, but pretended to be asleep as he thought some time alone with his sister might help them to bond. Like him, his sister was also a morning person and most cheerful earlier in the day. Barely a minute later Kathryn returned to the room, got back on the sleeping mat and quietly sobbed into her pillow. After a few moments Chakotay slid his hand across her back. "Kathryn what's wrong?" She slid out from under it and went to stand in the corner with her back to him as she idly picked up a doll from Tayla's toy shelf. Chakotay sat up in bed and again asked, "Kathryn, what happened? Please come sit and talk to me."

She finally relented, sat next to him with a thud, drew her knees up, leaned the doll against them and started playing with its hair. "I don't even know what happened, I walked into the kitchen, said good morning to your sister and she pointed at me, yelled something and ran out the back door. All I said was good morning, what the hell did I do wrong this time?" she asked as another tear betrayed her and slid down her cheek before she could stop it.

Chakotay caught it with his little finger as he asked, "What did she say to you?"

"I don't know, I couldn't understand her, it wasn't English and she knows I don't understand but a few words of your language. Why does she have to be so nasty to me? I'm trying, Chakotay, I really am trying!"

"I know you are and I think I know what it is and it's my fault, not yours, and I'll tell her so. Kathryn, you're wearing shorts and traditional women here don't wear pants and they're very conservative in some respects and they don't expose their legs above the knee, especially to men; it would be about the same thing as you running around without a shirt on at home. I should have told you, but I didn't know you had any shorts with you and I've hardly ever seen you wear them, so I didn't think to say anything to you." Chakotay slid his arm around her and gave her a little hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Why don't you pull yourself together before you have to explain to Tayla why you drown her doll and put on a dress or a skirt and come to breakfast? I'll talk to Suli and explain, OK?"

"All right, but I don't seem to fit in here any better than you fit in with my family, no matter how hard you tried. Chakotay, has it ever occurred to you that maybe they're all right and you and I just don't belong together and will never fit in one another's worlds?"

"No, Kathryn, it hasn't because it isn't true. You most definitely have a place in my life and in my heart and I hope that I also have one in yours. Maybe neither your family nor mine will ever fully accept us, but that really doesn't matter to me. If they won't accept us in their worlds, then we'll just have to make a little world of our own, won't we?"

Kathryn finally cracked a smile. "I guess we will, but I'll keep at it and I know you will too because you're the most pigheaded and stubborn person in the galaxy… except for me, of course!" Kathryn stood and put the doll back on the shelf. "Go on, let me get 'properly' dressed."

Chakotay started out of the room, but turned back and gave Kathryn a mischievous smile. "Oh, Kathryn, one more thing. In that wonderful little world that we're going to create together one day, it will be perfectly OK for you to wear shorts 'cause you look really cute in them!"

Chakotay managed to explain Kathryn's fashion faux pas and smooth things over with his sister and the episode was soon forgotten. Over the next few days they eased into a routine of sorts; things were still tense, but they managed to get along reasonably well. Suleya went about her chores, with Kathryn helping her as she could, and Chakotay saw to various chores that Suli either didn't have the time or the skills to accomplish. Tayla and Kathryn got along quite well, although the child was smart enough to spend most of her time with Kathryn when her mother was otherwise occupied. The one concession Suli did make with respects to Tayla was that she allowed Kathryn to work with her to satisfy the child's boundless scientific curiosity as Kathryn was infinitely better equipped to do so and Suli was adamant that her child would have the best education she could give her.

The next time Atta arrived early in the morning with her wagon to take Suleya and Tayla into town to sell their eggs and vegetables, the poor old woman was so ill she could hardly stand. Suli convinced her to stay with them for the day and Chakotay assured his sister he and Kathryn could handle taking the things to market and would welcome the chance to do some shopping in town.

Chakotay drove a hard bargain, receiving an excellent price for his sister on her eggs and vegetables. Looking at the other eggs the merchant had, it was obviously quite true his sister's chickens produced the largest eggs in the area. Next they went to the food market and bought the items that Suli had on her grocery list. When they had them they smiled at one another, got a second basket and filled it with items not on her list.

Chakotay handed his shopping basket to Kathryn, "Here, do you think you can carry both to the counter?"

"Yes, why?"

He picked up a ten kilo bag of flour. "For this, wheat flour. Wheat and other grains like it don't grow here because it's too hot and wheat flour is imported and a real luxury. My sister loves white bread, now she can make it. Grab some kafirian apples, she loves them too."

When they had their groceries they went on to the hardware store and bought the supplies Chakotay needed to make more repairs and improvements to the house and chicken coop and some items he noticed that Suli either lacked or had but needed replacing. Since they had a large wagon and had exchanged Federation Credits for plenty of the local currency, they visited almost every shop in town and bought things before they got some sandwiches and fruit salad for lunch. After lunch they bought more school books and lesson PADDs for Tayla, ordered what they anticipated she would need in the future and purchased an array of supplies suitable for the budding young artist. Wanting an outfit for herself like the local woman wore, Kathryn asked Chakotay to wait in the wagon while she went into a shop.

When she came out without anything he asked, "What's the matter, they didn't have your size?"

She shook her head as she took a sip from their canteen, "No, they didn't have anything I liked that would fit, so let's just go home. I hope your sister likes that sewing machine we got for her. I can't imagine her making all those clothes by hand!"

"I'm sure she'll like it, she had one like it before. Remember that old blue and white striped shirt I wore all the time on New Earth you liked so much? She made me that. Kathryn, you know how to knit don't you? Why don't we see if we can get some knitting needles and yarn and you can knit something and show her you do have artistic domestic skills."

Kathryn gave him a shove and laughed. "Chakotay, all I know how to make are afghans and sweaters. It's hotter than hell here, what does your sister need with an afghan or a sweater? I'm sure she knows the extent of my domestic skills without a replicator is pretty much limited to making coffee, brownies and grilled cheese sandwiches. Chakotay, what does '_cossack_' mean?

"Cossack?"

"Well, that's what it sounded like: cos-sack, cos-kick, cos-sick or something like that?"

Chakotay stopped the wagon in the middle of the road and demanded, "Kathryn, where did you hear that?"

"Why, what does it mean?"

"Kathryn, did someone say that to you? Who? Where? Tell me!"

She lowered her eyes. "Well, yes, the woman in the clothing shop. What does it mean?" Chakotay turned the wagon around and starting heading back into town. "Chakotay, what does it mean? Why you won't tell me? C'mon, just forget it, maybe I heard it wrong. Don't start trouble, let's just go home, I didn't need any clothes anyhow."

"No way, I won't let anyone speak to you that way, Kathryn!" he shouted as he urged the mule to go faster.

His face was redder than she had ever seen it. "Chakotay, please don't shout at me, you've never shouted at me like that before and you look like you're about to boil over, so calm down. Will you please tell me what it meant?"

Chakotay stopped the wagon in front of the shop and was almost at the point of crying. He took a few breaths to steady himself. "Kathryn, it's an extremely vile insult, there isn't an exact translation, but it means a… a White woman whore." Before Kathryn knew what was happening, he dragged her into the shop and had words with the woman there, one of his own people. Despite his anger, Chakotay's tone was composed and steady as he spoke with the woman and occasionally gestured towards Kathryn with one hand and held hers in his other. She couldn't understand the conversation, but it did seem civil. When he was finished the woman bowed, extended her hand and apologized to Kathryn in broken English before she and Chakotay left the shop, got in the wagon and headed for home.

Both were silent and it was a good twenty minutes or so before Chakotay broke the silence. "Kathryn, I'm sorry I lost my temper and I'm very sorry I shouted at you. It just hurt me very deeply that someone would say that about you, make horrible assumptions about your character and imply that you are anything but the wonderful woman you are. I'm very sorry."

She slid closer and put her arm around his shoulder. "It's OK, I understand and I'm sure I've been called worse. Chakotay, you should know my family said some pretty vile things about you too and it's very hard not to overreact when someone insults the person that you love and hold in high esteem. We're a couple of pretty tough cookies, we'll get over it"

"I'm sure we will. I don't care what some shopkeeper thinks so much, but I do wish my sister would see in you what I see in you."

"Chakotay, does your sister think I'm a whore too?"

"Kathryn! How could you say such a thing? No, she doesn't. I told her about our relationship, what it is and what it isn't, and she believed me. I don't think it's your character she objects to so much as your ethnicity. Kathryn, I honestly think, once she gets to know you, we'll all get along."

"And I have the same wish for my family, but enough of that! Chakotay, have you noticed that your niece trips and stumbles quite frequently?"

Chakotay laughed, "Yeah, poor kid, probably a big clumsy oaf like her uncle!"

"No, I'm serious, the other day she tripped over a basket that was right in her path, plain as day, and I saw her trip over a rake handle too. Do you remember when you showed her pictures on the PADD? She held it right up to her face and she did the same when she was showing me one of her books. She seems to read fine, but that's large type in children's books. Chakotay, I don't think Tayla can see very well."

He rubbed his chin as he thought for a moment. "You know, I did notice and I have seen her trip a couple times too and, now that I think of it, I asked her for more rice the other night and she spooned it right onto the table instead of my plate. I thought she just wasn't paying attention because she was talking at the same time."

Kathryn continued, "Yes, and she pointed to a rooster and told me it was the best layer and I'm sure that she knows a hen from a rooster and that roosters don't lay eggs. It's lots of little things, but I don't think the child can see very well. Would you ask your sister about it tonight? I get the impression medical care isn't much here, but I'm sure she's had Tayla to see a doctor, hasn't she?"

"Yes, of course. When I found out you fainted I asked Suli about what medical care was available here as I was worried about you and she said there was a doctor that comes into town twice a week, an Andorian woman she said. It's free, it's part of the Andorian relief effort, and I know she takes Tayla regularly to see the doctor and get her vaccinations and all. I'll talk to her tonight; did you say anything?"

"Of course not, I didn't want her to think I was criticizing or meddling, but I honestly think the child has vision problems. I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner."

"Don't feel bad, I didn't either. If you could, maybe you could go take a walk or take Tayla into her room to play or something right after dinner and I'll have a chat with Suli."

"OK, no problem. She loves snow, I'll show her our pictures from Christmas."

That evening Chakotay slid into bed quietly and adjusted the mosquito netting as Kathryn rolled over towards him. "You and your sister sure talked for a long time. What did she say?"

"Oh, Kathryn, I'm sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't, I was waiting up for you. So, tell me, did Suleya know about Tayla's eyesight?"

"Yes, she knows, she noticed it a long time ago and Tayla knows about it too, well, she knows a sugar coated version of the truth. It's getting worse and the doctor confirmed it. She even took Tayla to the hospital in Ixta, which is the most advanced medical facility on the planet, although Suli said it looks like it's from the twenty third century. Anyhow, she said they have some better doctors there. The doctor in Ixta told her it's apparently genetic and most of Human-Cardassian hybrid children have the same problem and they think it's caused by some sort of genetic incompatibility between the two species or it could also be related to the radiation or some sort of contamination the mothers were exposed to during pregnancy; they're not sure. There aren't very many children like Tayla here as most were given up for adoption and are spread out all over the galaxy now and nobody seems to be correlating or studying any medical problems common to them."

"I see. Is there any treatment that she can have to help her?"

"Suli said he told her no, there was nothing to be done. She took her to one of the local medicine men, but he said the same thing, that is was 'the curse of her father'."

"Well, no offense to your medicine man, but that's poppycock! Chakotay, from what you said, I doubt the medical facilities here are very advanced, so do you think, if she took Tayla to Earth, to Starfleet Medical, there might be something that could be done?"

"Well, we did talk about that and they did mention something to her, that maybe someplace could help Tayla, but the expenses in doing that were way out of the realm of possibilities for Suli, so she dismissed it. She's also reluctant about leaving Dorvan. It's a long story and it would take me a hour to explain her beliefs, but I think I can safely say the woman will not leave the planet."

"What about Tayla, would she be open to her leaving long enough to get treatment? We could take her back to Earth with us, have Starfleet look at her and see what they can do or where we could take her to get her the help she needs. If there's any possibility to help that child, I want to do it!"

"So do I. Suli said she would think about it, she needs to have a vision quest, speak to her spirit guide and give it more thought. I explained the situation to her, that I need to be back at Starfleet by the fifteenth and would have to be there for about two weeks, but I could come back after that or I would be glad to keep Tayla with me if the treatment would take some time or I'd have to take her someplace else. I told her that you and I could look after her and she wouldn't face the prejudice on Earth that she has to face here and the travel would be a good learning experience for her as well."

Kathryn sat up. "Chakotay, maybe that wasn't such a good idea? Your sister doesn't like me, if she thought I were involved, she might be less inclined to say yes. I hate to say this, but maybe the best thing to do would be to lie to her and tell her I wouldn't be involved, that Starfleet was sending me to someplace far away? Maybe we could stage a big fight and I could leave before you do, so she thinks I'm out of your life? I hate to be dishonest, but my main interest is that Tayla gets the care she needs."

Chakotay sat up and took Kathryn's hands. "That's all I want too, but I'm not going to deceive my sister. Kathryn, you are a part of my life and, I hope, my future and Suli just has to accept that. She knows Tayla likes you and I think she's softening because," he chuckled, "she called you 'her' rather than 'that woman'. I told you, we weren't raised with prejudice, it's only the war that made her that way, and I honestly think the spirits will guide her back to what our parents taught us." He laid back down and sighed as his head settled into the pillow. "It's very late, let's try to get some sleep. Oh, she isn't going to say anything to Tayla until she has made her decision, so don't mention the matter at all, even to me, until she does. When a matter is turned over to the sky spirits, it isn't proper to discuss it further until they have given their advice."

"OK, I won't, but please don't forget that, if she imposes a condition that I have nothing to do with it, I would be glad to agree to it for Tayla's sake, even if it means I can't see or talk to you until you take her back home. Goodnight, Chakotay, sleep well, I love you."

"I love you too, Kathryn," he replied as he slid his arm across her and pulled her a little closer.

As stipulated, over the next several days no mention was made of Tayla's proposed trip. Chakotay built a sturdy table to Suli's specifications for her new sewing machine, Atta came to see it and the two women spent an entire day sewing things with the cloth Chakotay and Kathryn bought and some homemade cloth that Atta brought. Knowing that she was useless with a sewing machine and not wanting them to know, Kathryn kept Tayla out of their hair and the two of them worked in the garden most of the day while Chakotay enlarged the chicken coop so that Suli could get more chickens. Her eggs were of such good quality that they were in high demand and being able to produce more would add substantially to her income.

On the fourth day after the initial discussion about Chakotay taking Tayla for medical treatment, the child spent the day at Atta's house while Kathryn, Chakotay and Suli borrowed Atta's wagon to take what they had to sell to market. They had hoped she would use the opportunity to discuss it further, but they only

talked about expanding her egg business and how, if it grew enough, she could probably buy her own wagon and a mule or a horse. Kathryn and Chakotay made mental notes as they exchanged glances on that thought.

They sold the eggs and produce, went shopping at several shops and stopped at a small Bolian bakery where Suli insisted on buying a box of some sort of special fried pies they made there. There was only one restaurant of sorts in town, run by Bolians as well, so Chakotay insisted upon buying lunch for Kathryn and Suleya there as the Bolians had no problem serving them. The restaurant served meat and Kathryn was dying for some as she hadn't had any since a ham and cheese sandwich on the shuttle, but she didn't want to take the chance of offending Suleya, so she ordered the same thing Chakotay did.

They climbed back into the wagon and Chakotay headed out of town as he asked, "Does everyone have everything they need before we leave?"

Kathryn nodded and Suli sat quietly until she said, "No, can you go back please, there is something I need to buy."

Chakotay turned the wagon around. "OK, which store, what did you forget?"

Suli linked her arm through her brother's. "To the general store, please, I need to buy a suitcase, for my daughter's trip to Earth with her uncle… and his lady friend."

Chakotay stopped the wagon and hugged her. "Suli, really, you'll let her go?"

"Yes. I gave it much thought and the spirits said that I should let her go because there is no help for her here. They told me I could trust her to you and you would bring her safely back to me. I spoke with our parents and they also said to trust you and to do the best I can for Tayla, just as they always tried to do for us. I was sitting in a forest on my vision quest, leaning up against a fallen tree, and a small green lizard came to me and spoke and it said to trust you, both of you, so I will."

Chakotay gave her another hug. "I'm so glad you did, Sister, and I will keep her safe and do everything for her that I can. If there is anyone who can help her, I will take her to them. The trip will also be a good cultural experience for her and I'll take her to see as many things as I can, including the lands of our ancestors. Come on, I'll go make the travel arrangements and send a message to the doctor from Voyager I told you about and Kathryn can take you to buy a suitcase and whatever else Tayla needs."

Suleya was so emotional all she could do was to get a few words out. "Thank you so much, thank you!"

That evening, after dinner and a dessert of the special Bolian fried pies that Tayla loved, they broke the news to her about the trip. At first the child was terrified at the prospect and clung to her mother, saying that she was too scared to go and didn't want to leave her mother.

Suli took Tayla into her lap and tried to reassure her. "Tayla, it will be a great adventure and maybe the doctors there will be able to help you and fix your eyes so you can see better. You can see the lands where our people came from on Earth and lots of other wonderful amazing things. Please don't worry, Uncle Chakotay will take good care of you and he will bring you home to me and, when you get home, you can tell me stories about Earth and draw pictures."

She was still skeptical. "But, Momma, Earth is very far away! Will Kella Thanna be able to come with me?"

"Of course, Sweetheart, and we'll make her a pretty new dress to wear while she's there! Why don't you go get her and we can tell her that she's going on a trip with you?""

When Tayla left the room, Kathryn looked at Suli with confusion. "Kella Thanna?"

Suli poured them all more tea and smiled. "Kella Thanna, that's her favorite doll. Her favorite Andorian nun gave it to her just before she left and Tayla named the doll after her. Since she doesn't have any other children to play with, Tayla is very fond of her dolls; they're her pretend friends." Tayla skipped back into the room, hopped on her mother's lap and sat the bright blue Andorian doll on the table. Suli played with the dolls long white hair that Tayla had styled into braids like her own as she explained, "See, this is Kella Thanna and she's going to Earth with Tayla and keep her company while the doctors make her eyes better."

Tayla giggled, "Yes, and Mommy is going to make her a new dress to wear!" She handed the doll the Kathryn, "Would you like to hold her, Ma'am? Will you go to Earth with us and take care of me too?"

Kathryn smiled and placed the doll in her lap. "Oh yes, thank you. Of course I'll go with you and I'll help take care of you, if your mommy says that's all right," she said as she looked towards Suli.

Suli sat Tayla back on her feet as Kathryn handed her the doll. "Yes, she is going with you and Uncle Chakotay. Tayla, why don't you go pick out which fabric you want me to make Kella Thanna's new dress out of and then start working on your mathematics and I'll be there in a few minutes to help you? I need to talk to your uncle a little more." Tayla nodded and left the kitchen, chattering with her doll about their trip.

Kathryn scooted her chair closer to Suli. "Suleya, won't you please let Tayla call me something other than 'Ma'am'? I understand if you don't want her to call me aunt, but wouldn't it be all right if she called me Miss Katie or something like that?" Kathryn ran her hands through her hair and grinned, "I've been called 'Ma'am' all day every day for the last seven years and, quite frankly, I'd like to take a vacation from it!"

Suli finally cracked a rare smile. "Yes, I can see that and it would be fine, but I have raised her to address adults with respect and I hope that will not change."

"Of course not," Kathryn assured, "my parents raised me the same way and I do think it's important. Suleya, if you don't want me to spend any time with Tayla, I will respect your wishes and I won't, but I would like your permission to take her to visit my mother's farm. I think she would really like that and she really wants to see snow and there won't be any in San Francisco."

"Yes, I want her to see many new places and things, that would be fine." Suli turned towards her brother. "Chakotay, will you be living in San Francisco? Do you…" She was interrupted by Tayla calling from the other room, asking for help with a math problem.

Kathryn could sense Chakotay and Suleya needed some time to discuss things, so she rose from the table and said, "Please, you two talk, I'll go help her, if that's OK?"

"Of course," Suli replied as Kathryn left the room. "Chakotay, do you and Kathryn have a nice house in San Francisco, where Tayla can play outside?"

"No, Suli, I don't, I wasn't there long enough to find a place to live, but I will, I'll find a nice place. I thought I told you, Kathryn and I don't live together."

"Oh, you don't? I thought she would be there to take care of Tayla too, she's used to a woman taking care of her, you know."

Chakotay patted her hand and smiled. "I know and I'm sure Kathryn can find a place nearby and see her every day. When we got back to Earth we went to visit Kathryn's family and I was staying there at her mother's house, but she and I are only planning to start dating, we don't have any plans to live together. Well, we haven't even had a chance to discuss the future yet, really; I'm not sure what she wants. Suli, I thought you didn't like Kathryn?"

"Well, she is… different, but Tayla likes her and you have told me she is a kind woman and I trust you. The spirits told me to trust her, but it is hard, it might take me some time. I know I am stubborn, but I can see that she does love you and you love her. Can you not stay together for Tayla's sake, so that she can have both of you there?"

Chakotay rose from the table, "Let me go talk to Kathryn for a moment and see what she thinks, OK?" She nodded, cleared the table and finished up the dishes. By time she was finished Chakotay returned. "Suli, I didn't know, but Kathryn owns a house in San Francisco that was rented out and will be vacant by time we get back. She said it would be fine for all of us to stay there, it has plenty of room and a big fenced yard too."

Suli started crying as she wrapped her arms around Chakotay. "That is good, I want the three of you to be together, it will be better for her. Oh, Chakotay, I am so afraid to let my baby go!"

He sat her down at the table and took her hands. "Sister, I will take good care of her. As soon as she has seen the doctors, I will send you a message and let you know what they said and how long she'll need to stay for treatment. I know it can take messages a long time to get here, but, if you want me to, I'll wait for your answer before I let the doctors do anything. As I told you, I'll have about two weeks of meetings and then I should have leave for six months and I can come back and stay longer and I'll help you out. I will send you and Tayla money every month and Kathryn and I are going to see what we can get done about the situation here on Dorvan; the Federation should be doing more. Don't worry, I have good friends with children who can baby sit Tayla if Kathryn and I have to both be gone at the same time. I can't guarantee they can help Tayla, but it's her best chance and, if nothing else, I'm sure she will enjoy the trip and learn many things and Kathryn and I will be sure that she keeps up with her studies. Suleya, please trust us!"

She wrapped her arms around him and hugged so hard she left bruises. "I do trust you, thank you so much, my brother."

The next couple of days flew by and the night before the big trip arrived. Suli prepared a special supper and had to yell out the back door three times before Chakotay finally yelled back that he was on his way. Atta had agreed to stay with Suli while Tayla was away and Chakotay had worked non-stop to build a stall and corral for her beloved mule. It was a worthwhile project as he had plans to get Suli a wagon and a horse or mule as soon as he returned.

During dinner Tayla asked every imaginable question about what the trip home and Earth would be like. Her initial apprehension had long since been replaced by curiosity and excitement. The same was true of Suli, whose enjoyment of her daughter's enthusiasm, coupled with the hope that her eyesight could be helped, served to make her comfortable with the trip too. When they had finished eating, Suli started to clear the table, but Kathryn literally took the plates from her hands. "Please, let me take care of cleaning up and go spend some special time together, won't you? Chakotay and I will take care of everything in here. If everything won't fit into Tayla's suitcase," Kathryn winked at the little girl, "because I know that her doll has a very extensive wardrobe, both of us have some room in our bags for a few more things."

"Thank you," Suli replied as she and Tayla left the kitchen.

Later that evening Kathryn gently knocked on Suli's door and poked her head in the room. "I hope I'm not intruding, but I have a little something here for Tayla."

"For me?" two very bright little brown eyes asked.

Kathryn sat on the floor beside the child as she kept something hidden in her hand. "Well, not exactly for you," she replied as she handed it to her, "It's for Kella Thanna, so she won't get cold in the snow. I knitted her a little sweater and a hat and I'll make a matching one for you too, but I didn't have time before we left."

Tayla held it close so she could see it and grinned from ear to ear as she gave Kathryn a hug. "Oh, thank you, thank you very much, Aunt Katie." She slammed her hand over her mouth as she realized her mistake and stiffened up. "I'm sorry, thank you Ma'am."

Suli gave her a hug, "It's all right, Tayla, if you want to call her Aunt Katie, you may, because I think she will be with your uncle for a very very long time." Suli examined the sweater. "This is beautiful, it's very excellent work, so small and yet so perfect. Tayla, why don't you try it on and see how Kella Thanna likes it? Thank you, that was very kind of you."

"Of course. I'm sorry I didn't have time to make her one too, but please don't worry, Chakotay and I will get her warm clothes and anything else she needs. We'll take good care of her."

"I know you will and I wish to thank you again for taking Tayla and allowing her and my brother to stay in your home."

"Of course, I'm glad to do it and we only hope that the doctors can help her. Well, it's late and Tayla needs her sleep and Chakotay was so tired he's probably already asleep, so I should go. Goodnight, Suleya."

"Goodnight, thank you for everything and please forgive me, I misjudged you and treated you unfairly." Suli went to her sewing table, retrieved a package wrapped in simple brown paper and handed it to Kathryn. "Here, I made this for you and Atta made the cloth. It is a small gift in comparison to what you have given us, but we hope you like it."

Kathryn quickly opened it. "Oh my, this cloth is lovely, please thank Atta for me. Oh, Suleya," she gasped as she removed the beautiful blue skirt from the paper and unfolded it. "I don't know what to say, this is just gorgeous, I have never seen anything so beautiful and the color is wonderful!"

"You are welcome, Tayla picked the color because she said it was the same as your eyes; she sees colors very well when she can look closely."

Kathryn turned to thank Tayla, but the child was asleep, with her doll, dressed in the new hat and sweater, cradled in her arms. "Well, thank you again and goodnight."

Suli gave Kathryn a gentle hug as she said, "No, thank you, Kathryn, and goodnight."

Kathryn washed up, slid into bed, wrapped her arms around Chakotay and snuggled up to him.

He was slightly startled as the warm temperatures weren't exactly conducive to snuggling, this was a particularly warm night and he and Kathryn had always pretty much kept to their separate sides of the bed. "Kathryn?"

"Who else would it be?" she giggled.

"Is everything OK?"

She snuggled up even closer. "Oh yes, the most amazing wonderful thing just happened!"

"What?"

"Your sister called me Kathryn!

/\


	3. Chapter 3

/\

Kathryn gently shook Tayla to rouse her as Chakotay gathered their carry on bags. "Wake up, Tayla, we have to get off now."

She looked around the shuttle and tried to see out the view ports, "Is this Earth, are we there yet?"

Chakotay picked her up, wishing the child had never been taught the expression 'are we there yet?'. "No, not yet, this is a space station, we have to wait for a while for the shuttle that will take us to Earth, but it will be a lot nicer than the one we took to get here."

"OK, I want to use the outhouse again, please. Will it be daytime or night when we get to Earth? Will it be snowing? Do we get to ride on a bus? Do they have eggs on Earth? What about monkeys, are there monkeys? Does it rain there?"

"Tayla!" Kathryn grinned as she took the child from Chakotay to take her to the rest room; Tayla had never seen modern toilets before and found them fascinating. "Tayla, it's called a bathroom here, not an outhouse, remember? It will probably be night by time we get there, it won't be snowing, there are plenty of eggs there, we'll take a car to our house because we have a lot of things to carry and it does rain in San Francisco, but not every day." Kathryn grinned and rolled her eyes at Chakotay. "Did I forget anything?"

"The monkeys," he prompted.

"Oh yes, there are monkeys on Earth, but not running around San Francisco. Come on, hold my hand so we don't get separated and Uncle Chakotay will wait over there and watch our things. Well, Tayla, what's your favorite part of the trip so far?"

She tried to pull on Kathryn to make her go faster. "That's easy, Aunt Katie, the toilets!"

By the time the three of them got to San Francisco, collected their luggage and got a cab for the ride to Kathryn's house, little Tayla was fast asleep in Chakotay's arms. "Poor kid, I guess all the excitement was too much for her? I bet she sleeps until morning. Kathryn, what about your house, where is it, what's it like?"

"Well, it's out in the suburbs and it's a nice little house, well it was when I left it, and it has a big back yard that's fenced. I only talked to Mom about it briefly while we were there, so I don't know much. Apparently they rented it out and gave the tenant notice when I got back. I sent a message from Dorvan to Sam Wildman and asked her to please check on it and get a few groceries and all, but, of course, I don't know if she got it. We might find everything in order, we might find a big mess or maybe they put all my things in storage and it's empty; I honestly don't know."

"Well, don't worry about it, if it's empty we can just go to a hotel for the night and deal with it tomorrow. I don't know about you, but I'm almost as tired as Tayla."

"Me too, but we're almost there."

When they got to the house Kathryn keyed in her code and, thankfully, the door opened. It was indeed furnished and looked much as it did when she left it seven years ago for what she assumed would be a short mission into the Badlands. Sam Wildman had been there and left them a note that she had tidied up, put clean sheets on the beds, brought a few things for Tayla and stocked the kitchen with enough for a few days.

They tucked Tayla into the small bed in the guest room and headed to the kitchen for a quick snack and something to drink. "Thank you, Kathryn. Your house is cute, I like it."

"Thanks. I'm too tired to mess with anything tonight, I just want to take a shower and go to bed, I'm exhausted."

"I am too. I'll carry your bag to your room, where do you want me to sleep?"

She rubbed her head as she finished her sandwich. "I don't know, I had an extra bed in the spare room, but it's not there now, so maybe it's in the garage or the attic now or they got rid of it, I don't know. I'm too tired to care, why don't you just share my room and we'll worry about getting organized tomorrow?

Several hours into a very sound sleep Kathryn and Chakotay were awakened by screaming from Tayla's room. They ran in to find the child sitting up, huddled with her doll in the middle of the bed, babbling incoherently.

Kathryn crawled into bed next to her to comfort her as she looked at Chakotay and asked, "I can't understand her, what's the matter, what's she saying, did she have a bad dream?"

He chuckled and sat down on the bed too as he rubbed Tayla's back. "It's the bed, Kathryn; we forgot, she's never slept in an elevated bed before. She woke up and thought she was floating, that the sky spirits had come to take her." He pushed back Tayla's hair and smiled. "Don't worry, you're much too young for the sky spirits to take you, Sweetheart. Why don't you come sleep with Aunt Katie and me and we'll fix your bed and put it on the floor tomorrow?"

She nodded and started to drift back to sleep, so Chakotay picked her up and placed her in the center of Kathryn's large bed as they lay down on either side of her and all went back to sleep. He was the first to awake late in the morning and looked to his left to see something he had never imagined. His niece Tayla was curled up, cradling an Andorian nun doll dressed in a blue dress, green knit sweater and hat and white hair braided into pigtails. Tayla was so tired Kathryn hadn't been able to coax her to put on her nightclothes, so she was still wearing her blue dress from the day before.

Kathryn lay on her side with one arm over Tayla and the other tucked beside her face. They had neglected to close the curtains in the room, so it was quite bright with morning sun. Chakotay gently touched Kathryn's hair, still slightly damp and in disarray as she had only towel dried it before going to bed. There were a few gray hairs that Chakotay had never noticed before, obviously she had not had the time to tend to her hair lately. He knew she colored it, she had teased him when he started coloring his gray hair about five years ago and then apologized, saying it was just the pot calling the kettle black. There were a few lines that commanding a starship for seven years in the Delta Quadrant had etched into Kathryn's face, but she was still beautiful and had wonderfully clear smooth skin and looked pretty even without any makeup on. The sun on Dorvan had brought out her freckles. He knew she hated them, but he thought they were absolutely adorable.

"What are you looking at?" she asked quietly as her eyes suddenly opened.

"You," he smiled. "I have always hated how you can suddenly wake up without so much as a muscle twitch as a warning. That makes it really hard to get away with staring at you, you know."

"I know," she smiled. "Well, I'm in no hurry to get up, so let's just lie here and enjoy it until Tayla wakes up. What time is it?"

"I don't know, there's no chronometer that I can see and I think I left my watch in the bathroom and my internal time clock is totally messed up. It's Friday, that's all I know! Does it really matter what time it is?"

"No," Kathryn replied as she sighed and closed her eyes again.

When they finally got up and dressed, Kathryn fixed breakfast while Tayla continued asking every imaginable question and Chakotay checked his messages. The EMH had received his message from Dorvan and had arranged to see Tayla on Monday for a general physical and then a Starfleet ophthalmologist would see her for an evaluation. Chakotay double checked to make sure he had all the child's medical records and the necessary documentation from his sister for Monday and found everything in order. After breakfast Tayla asked if she could go out in the backyard to explore, so Kathryn wrapped her up in an old sweater and let her go since it was a sunny and rather pleasant January day.

"More coffee?" Kathryn asked as she poured herself a cup. Chakotay nodded, so she filled his mug too. "Don't worry, the backyard has a two meter tall fence from when I had a dog, it's secure and safe. She's looking for monkeys, I couldn't convince her there aren't any monkeys in San Francisco. Well, I guess we need to make our plans for today at least? We definitely have to go get Tayla some warmer clothes, proper shoes and get our stuff back from storage and I imagine a trip to the store is in order for groceries and whatever else we need seeing as the replicator disappeared while I was gone. I guess maybe I should arrange a rental car?"

"Well, Kathryn, I went in the garage earlier to look for that other bed you said you had, which is there by the way with some storage containers and other pieces of furniture, and there's a little red car parked in the garage. Would that be your car?"

Kathryn ran and looked, checked on Tayla in the back yard, returned and sat back at the table. "I'll be damned! Yes, that's my car, right where I left it! Well, if it still works OK, that's one problem solved. I don't know what all that stuff in the spare room is, it's not mine, so I guess we can carry it out to the garage and move the guest room bed in there for you and then just carry the mattress in from the garage for Tayla? If she decides she wants the bed frame, we can bring in the rest then."

"OK, sounds like a plan. I think we need to get Tayla back into a routine of sorts so we can keep up with her schoolwork. I promised my sister we would make sure she does and takes her nap and doesn't stay up too late. Why don't you check out your house and make a shopping list and I'll go carry that stuff from the spare room to the garage and get the beds moved around. I guess a replicator is number one on the list?"

Kathryn continued talking as she washed up the breakfast dishes. "You know, Chakotay, I think I'd like to hold off on getting a replicator. While we were on Dorvan I got to thinking how dependant I am on technology and I think maybe I'd like to take a vacation from it and rough it for a while longer."

Chakotay jumped up from the table and grabbed Kathryn. "Who are you and what have you done with Kathryn Janeway?"

She pushed him off and went back to the dishes. "No, I'm serious! If nothing else, I think it might be better for Tayla to make life here more like her life at home so she has some normalcy and stability." Kathryn turned around with a grin and placed a blob of suds of Chakotay's nose. "Well, as normal as life can be for a child who has you for an uncle!"

Chakotay grabbed her hands and held them with one while he threw suds at her repeatedly with the other. "Me not normal? Me? I beg your pardon, Aunt Katie, but just how normal is a woman who yells at computers when she doesn't like their answers, talks to alien monkeys and tomato plants, needs six cups of coffee before she's coordinated enough to zip up her uniform and gives the finger to the turbolift doors almost every time she leaves Astrometrics?"

"Uncle Chakotay, how come you're giving Aunt Katie a bath in the kitchen?"

"What?" He let Kathryn go with an apologetic grin and tossed her the towel. "I'm sorry, Tayla, Sweetie, I didn't hear you come in. Aunt Katie just needed a little cleaning up, that's all. How did you like the back yard?"

"Well, there's a wall all around it and there aren't too many trees and I couldn't find any flowers or animals either and it smells funny and it's really really cold. There's no garden or fruit trees or chickens or anything; what are we going to eat?"

Chakotay took Tayla into the living room and sat her on his knees. "Don't worry, we'll go to the store and buy food; there's lots of food here, but it's so cold right now it doesn't grow outside. Aunt Katie and I have been away on a long trip and we just got back and haven't had time to plant a garden yet. Don't worry, we will as soon as it gets warmer. Tayla, you have to promise me that you won't leave the back yard or go out the front door unless Kathryn or I are with you, OK? It's not dangerous here, but you don't know where you are, so you might get lost. Promise?" She nodded and snuggled into his shoulder. "Good, because we promised your mommy we would take very special care of you. When Kathryn has finished cleaning up the kitchen we're going to go shopping and we'll get lots of food and some warm clothes for you and maybe some books too, would you like that?"

"Oh yes, I love books! Can we get something for Mommy?"

"Of course, Sweetie, and we'll send her a message and some pictures when we get back and we can get a present for Nana Atta too. Don't worry, I'll fix your bed for you so it's just like at home and you won't get scared tonight. If you do get scared, you know you can come and sleep with Aunt Katie or me, we'll always be there for you. New places can be scary, we understand that, because, on our long trip, we saw a lot of new places. C'mon, let's go see if Aunt Katie is ready to go shopping."

The shopping expedition was quite successful. They spent the morning looking for new clothes and everyone came away with lots of new things. Tayla was initially overwhelmed and very quiet, however her enthusiasm for all the lovely things in the stores eventually won out and, as long as someone was holding her hand and no strangers approached, she was very content to explore and pick out some new clothes. She was quite taken with all the new technology she was seeing and happy enough with it once she understood it, but she was very apprehensive of the many varied people on Earth and showed no desire to interact with them. Fortunately, in an area such as the shopping mall near Starfleet in San Francisco, the local population was used to seeing people from all over the galaxy and Tayla experienced none of the prejudice she did whenever she went into town at home.

Lunch in the mall replimat was an adventure in and of itself and Tayla's shyness did not extend to Earth's food as she wanted to sample it all. Fortunately, since her uncle was familiar with what her stomach was familiar with, he helped her to pick out things that weren't likely to make her sick. As for her aunt, she hadn't had any meat in weeks and ate both a hamburger and a fried chicken leg, much to Tayla's chagrin as, like Chakotay and his sister, the child was also a vegetarian.

The afternoon's shopping yielded more sheets and towels and various other supplies for the house and ended with a trip to the grocery store. Tayla was even more enchanted with the grocery store's offerings, but just couldn't understand why people bought things that they should be able to grow in their back yards. She wasn't really a picky eater, but they got a good assortment of food to be sure they had lots of things she liked.

When they arrived home in the afternoon they unloaded the car and Kathryn started to put the groceries away while Chakotay carried his now thoroughly exhausted niece to her room for a nap. As he tucked her in he asked, "What was your favorite part of our shopping trip?"

She thought for a moment then smiled broadly, "That's easy, pizza and driving the shopping cars!"

"Shopping carts," he corrected. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. You take a nap and then maybe we'll have time to go for a walk together before dinner, Aunt Katie said there's a nice park with a playground just up the street. We'll be in the living room or the kitchen, if you need anything, just call, OK?" Receiving no reply he looked down and found Tayla already asleep, so he tucked her doll in with her, kissed her on the forehead, pulled the door almost shut and left the room.

Kathryn greeted him as she tore everything out of the pantry cupboard and decided to start from scratch. "No problem with nap time I take it?"

"Nope, except that I wanted to join her," he grinned as he helped Kathryn wipe the shelves clean. "Decide how you want to organize this and I'll hand things to you. Look at all this stuff, did we really buy it all?"

She slapped her hands on her hips and shook her head. "I suppose we did! Chakotay, if you're that tired, go and take a nap and I can take care of this."

"No, I'll help you get the kitchen squared away and then maybe we can sneak off and take a nap together?" he asked as he handed her a package of pasta and used it as an excuse to get close enough to nuzzle Kathryn's hair.

She tossed the pasta back on the counter. "Chakotay, I think we need to have a talk… about us."

He hung his head, "Uh oh!"

Kathryn grabbed his hand and tugged him to the sofa. "Sit down, no 'uh oh', I'm not upset. Chakotay, I know this is going to sound stupid coming from me when we've been sharing a bed for more than two weeks, but, now that we don't have to because of space and accommodations, I don't think we should sleep together anymore. Before you ask, no, you didn't do or say anything and I'm not saying this because of anything that happened."

He took her hands and gave her a coy smile. "Is it because of what didn't happen?"

She returned his smile, "No, not that either. Chakotay, our situation is unique, we're best friends and you and I know each other better than anyone else knows us. We've worked together and spent most of our waking hours together for the last seven years, spent a couple months living together on our little planet and we've been and still are one another's best friends, sounding boards, confidants and a million other things."

"I know that, Kathryn, tell me something I don't know. I like you, I love you and I like spending time with you; I can't imagine life without you. I realize being in a command structure placed limitations on us that we had to live with, but we're free from that now. Kathryn, you're not saying what I think you are, are you? Don't you feel the same way I do?"

"Yes, oh yes, of course I do, I love you too! If you think I'm saying I want to break up, that's not it at all. Chakotay, what I am saying is that I kind of want to backtrack a bit. By that I mean I want us to date, I want to have a boyfriend and go out on dates, send silly love notes, spend hours talking on the comm link and all those things. I've never really had a relationship like that and I want to, even though we're too old to act like kids. Oh, you think that's stupid, don't you?"

His grin gave his answer away. "Does that include forgetting my name whenever I see you, buying you little presents, flowers and chocolates, calling you ten times a day and inviting you out on dates? What about doodling your name during staff meetings, staring at your picture whenever we're apart and doing my best to run into you all the time?"

"Yes, all those things. Think you can handle that?"

"Oh yes, I'm sure I can. Kathryn, do you want me to move out? What about what we told my sister, that we'd both take care of Tayla while she's here?"

"I know we did, I'm not talking about now, we both need to be here together for her sake, I know that and I'm fine with it. We don't need to worry about anything right now, we'll talk again after we take Tayla home and we have a better idea of what Starfleet is going to do with us." Kathryn went back to the kitchen and started putting things away. "C'mon, let's get the kitchen cleaned up and then I think I could use a power nap. Did you talk to Tayla more about going over to Sam's tomorrow and meeting Naomi?"

Chakotay continued as he handed her things. "Yes, we talked while you were trying on clothes. She's still not the least bit enthused about it. You have to remember, Tayla has never had a friend or even played with other children. From what Suli told me, all she's experienced from other kids is taunting, rejection and ethnic slurs. I told her how sweet Naomi is, but she really doesn't want to go meet her."

"Hand me the cereal please. We need to get her used to someone, we need someone we can leave her with when we both have to go into Starfleet at the same time and Sam was nice enough to volunteer to take care of her and, with Naomi being the same age as Tayla, it's the ideal situation. Do you think she'll have a fit and kick and scream and hate us forever if we take her?"

"I don't know, she seems to be obedient and we haven't had problems yet with any bad behavior, but she is a six year old kid, so I know anything's possible. I wouldn't worry, Kathryn, I think, once she and Naomi meet, they'll start playing and get along just fine. Sam knows a lot more about kids than we do, I bet she knows how to get two kids playing together. She's still apprehensive about seeing the doctor on Monday, but I guess that's natural. Here, these are the last packages. It looks great, you did a good job, Neelix would be proud! Kathryn, is curling up together and taking a nap on the couch something you'd be willing to do? We even did that back on the ship a time or two… or three as I recall."

"I know we did, but that was accidental."

"Accidental?" Chakotay laughed as he stretched out on the sofa. "I don't recall Captain Janeway doing anything by accident."

Kathryn laid down beside him as he draped his arm over her and they snuggled under the afghan. "Yes, accidental; that's my official story and I'm sticking to it."

The next afternoon Tayla's eyes were huge as they pulled into the parking lot adjacent to the Wildman's apartment building. "Wow, they sure got a big house!"

Chakotay chuckled, "It's an apartment building, Sweetie, not a house. Lots of families live here, not just Naomi's. It's like a lot of smaller houses in one big building… um, kind of like a beehive. OK, get your doll and come on, we don't want to be late."

Samantha Wildman, Naomi, Chakotay and Kathryn exchanged greetings at the door before Chakotay pried Tayla's death grip off his thigh, pushed her in front of him and put his hands on her shoulders. "Everyone, I would like to introduce my niece Tayla. She's visiting with us from Dorvan." He gave Tayla's shoulders a squeeze. "Say hello to Ms. Wildman and Naomi, Tayla." The child twisted away from Chakotay, grabbed Kathryn's skirt and pulled it in front of her as she hid behind her.

Kathryn extricated her skirt, picked Tayla up and grinned as they headed for the sofa. "She's a little shy today, you'll have to forgive her." Sam smiled as she offered cookies from a plate. Tayla gave the cookies a glance, but crawled up onto Kathryn's lap and again hid her head. Not sure what to do, Kathryn passed her to Chakotay as she stood and announced, "Here, Sweetheart, I have to go and help Sam with the drinks, you sit here and maybe you could introduce Naomi to Kella Thanna?"

Although Naomi was the same age as Tayla, she was considerably larger and more mature and had been briefed by her mother that Tayla was shy and what not to say or ask her about. She was also unabashedly outgoing and moved to sit beside Chakotay and his niece. Chakotay smiled at Naomi and discretely nodded towards the child that was now desperately clinging to his vest.

"Hi, my name is Naomi and I'm six years old too. That's a really pretty doll, what's her name? She's Andorian, isn't she?" Chakotay gave Tayla a little hug and she nodded slightly. "I like her sweater, did you make it?" Tayla shook her head. Naomi looked at the doll more closely. "Her dress looks really pretty, can you take off her sweater so I can see it?" Tayla reluctantly let go of Chakotay's neck and opened the doll's little sweater. Naomi looked at the doll's dress and smiled, "Wow, that's the prettiest dress ever, it looks just like your dress!"

Tayla cracked a slight smile and quietly said, "My mommy made them."

Naomi's eyes grew huge. "Wow, your mommy can sew? My Mommy can't sew. Did your mommy make her sweater too?"

Tayla was a little louder this time. "No, Aunt Katie made the sweater." Chakotay whispered something in the child's ear, so she added, "Her name is Kella Thanna."

"I like that name, it's pretty. Do you want to see my favorite doll?" Tayla nodded, so Naomi tried to coax her to follow her to her room, but she wasn't quite ready to leave her uncle's side, so Naomi ran to her room to retrieve the doll and sat back beside them. "This is Flotter, he's my favorite doll. What's your favorite Flotter story? Here, do you want to hold him?"

Tayla sat the doll on her lap, rubbed his bald ridged head and grinned. "He's blue and he doesn't have any hair; is he Bolian?" The Bolian couple that ran the bakery at home had always been kind to Tayla and her mother, so she had an affinity for Bolians.

Naomi shrugged her shoulders, "No, he's just Flotter, he's from the Forest of Forever. What's your favorite Flotter story, Tayla?"

"I don't know any Flotter stories," Tayla replied as she hung her head.

Chakotay took his cue. "You know, Tayla, I think Naomi knows almost all the Flotter stories and has all his story books and, Naomi, I bet Tayla knows lots of stories that you don't, stories like the ones I used to tell you when you'd come to visit me back on Voyager."

"Oh wow, Tayla, do you know the story about the snakes and the talking monkey?"

"You mean Chinnapal?"

"Yes, that's the one!" She nodded. "C'mon, Tayla, let's go in my room and you can tell me that story again and I'll read you my favorite Flotter story and then we can make up a story about Flotter and Kella Thanna, OK?"

"Can Flotter be Bolian in the story and have a bakery where he makes fried pies?"

Naomi giggled, "Sure, and can Kella Thannna be a beautiful Andorian princess who has her own starship?"

Tayla stuck her finger in her mouth as she contemplated. "I don't know, Kella Thanna is a nun, can a nun be a princess and have a starship too?" She looked to her uncle, "Would that work, Uncle Chakotay?"

"Of course, Sweetie, I'm pretty sure it's possible, especially if it's in the Forest of Forever. You two go and play and we'll all be right here talking. Have a good time and don't forget to tell Naomi the legend of how the sky spirits came and made the mountains and the lakes, I don't think I ever told her that story."

Kathryn and Sam had been observing from the kitchen and waited until the girls left for Naomi's room to go play before they returned. "Mission accomplished!" Sam declared as she served coffee. "You're so good with her, Chakotay, you have a special talent."

"Thanks for the coffee." He thought and grinned, "Years of practice, kids are almost as easy to handle as starship captains. As long as you let them think everything was their idea, get them lots of coffee and snacks and stroke their egos, they'll pretty much do anything you want them to."

"Is that a fact?" Kathryn asked, incredulously.

"It is," Chakotay replied as he took a sip of coffee, puffed out his chest and settled back into the sofa.

Kathryn looked at Sam and smiled. "And first officers are a lot like Golden Retrievers. As long as you keep them on a tight leash, toss them a biscuit and praise them every now and then, they'll wag their tails, follow you around all day, do your work, and fetch your slippers for you at night. Cookie, Chakotay?" Kathryn asked as she offered the plate and batted her lashes while she rubbed his calf with her foot.

Sam got up and excused herself to go take the kids some snacks and check on them. Chakotay ate his cookie slowly and just smiled and stared at Kathryn.

"What, Chakotay, why are you staring at me like that? Do I have crumbs on my chin or something? Is something wrong with my hair? Is my mascara clumped? What?"

He bent down and grabbed her foot that was still rubbing him and had worked its way up under his pant leg and was pushing his sock down. "No, I just thought I'd stop you before you made a spectacle of yourself." He leaned in and teased her with his lips. "Maybe I'm a faithful Golden Retriever first officer, but I'm beginning to think you're the one that's in heat, Captain."

"Chakotay!" she chastised as she pushed him away. "I most certainly am not! I'm sorry, I didn't realize what I was doing."

"Uh huh. When does Kathryn Janeway not know what she's doing? Kathryn, you can rub anything you want, but maybe we should wait until we get home and Tayla is asleep, humm?"

She rose from the sofa, went to the table to pour herself more coffee and gave Chakotay a wicked grin. "You just watch yourself, Rover!"

"Me? I'm not the one that was humping a leg, Kathryn!"

"Excuse me?" Sam said as she returned to the room.

Kathryn blushed, returned to her seat and gave Chakotay a little smile. "Nothing, Sam, we were just talking about why it might not be a good idea to get a dog right now." She gave Chakotay another wicked grin. "If we had a dog that didn't mind his manners, I'm pretty sure he would find himself sleeping in the garage."

Sam offered a dish of candy as she patted Kathryn on the arm. "Oh, don't worry, Captain, I hear all that obnoxious behavior stops as soon as you get them neutered."

On Monday morning the trio waited in an exam room at Starfleet medical. Kathryn stole a glance and smiled; Chakotay was almost as apprehensive and fidgety as his niece. Tayla was none too fond of doctors and even a promised trip to the zoo to see the monkeys after the exam had done little to allay her fears. As she heard someone approaching in the corridor, she slid off her chair and ducked down behind Chakotay's.

"Good morning, Captain and Commander," the EMH greeted as he glanced at his PADD and gave a slight nod to indicate he knew where the child was hiding. "You're both looking healthy, I trust you enjoyed pleasant holidays?"

"Oh yes, Doctor," Chakotay replied, "We spent Christmas at Kathryn's mother's farm in Indiana and then took a trip to my sister's."

The doctor scanned Chakotay with his tricorder until he abruptly snapped it shut as his face contorted into his all too familiar grimace. "Well, Commander, I can see what the problem is, but I think I'll have to send you to the psych unit to get it cleared up."

"Excuse me?" Chakotay replied.

The EMH crossed his arms, stared at Chakotay and smiled. "Commander, you're almost fifty years old and you're sitting there playing with a doll. I don't know about you, but Starfleet thinks that's rather aberrant behavior for a man your age."

Chakotay looked down, noticed that he was indeed absentmindedly playing with the doll and smiled as he quickly stood and shoved it into Kathryn's hands. "Uh, Doctor, I was just holding it for a friend." A faint giggle came from behind his chair.

"Of course you were!" He looked down, shook his head and rolled his eyes. "How many times have I heard that one?" The doctor walked to the chair where Chakotay had been sitting and peeped behind it. "My, my, aren't you cute! Who do we have here?" The doctor leaned to Chakotay's ear and whispered, "Don't worry, I installed some new pediatric personality subroutines, I think you'll be very pleased."

Chakotay extended his hand to coax the child out from behind the chair as Kathryn stood and handed her the doll. "Don't be shy, Sweetheart, come and say hello to the doctor. Doctor, this is Chakotay's niece, Tayla."

He knelt and extended his hand, "Hello, Tayla. Chakotay didn't tell me how pretty you are. That's a really pretty doll too, does she have a name?" Tayla wasn't about to shake his hand, so he shook the doll's hand instead. "It's very nice to meet you, uh… sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Kella Thanna," Tayla replied with a slight grin.

He pretended to make an entry on his PADD. "Kella Thanna it is, then. Tayla, why don't we put Kella up on the table and check to make sure she's healthy?"

Tayla suddenly became very talkative as she took the doll over to the exam table. "Her name isn't Kella, it's really Thanna, Kella is what you call Andorian nuns, so her name is Kella Thanna. She's an Andorian nun princess starship captain and she's going to marry a handsome Bolian pie maker prince named Flotter from the kingdom of water and the Forest of Forever."

"I see!" the EMH replied as he lifted the child and the doll onto the exam table. "Well, can you hold Kella Thanna on you lap and ask her to sit very still so that I can examine her eyes with this?" he asked as he produced a small ophthalmic scanner. "I understand she's been having some trouble seeing things."

Tayla giggled, "That's silly, are you sure you're a real doctor? Kella Thanna is a doll, she doesn't really have any eyes, you know!"

"Well, that's OK, I'm a hologram, so I don't really have any either!"

The exam progressed well until the EMH needed Tayla to lie down and remain still while he closed the scanner bed around her. She had never seen such a thing and only Chakotay's quick reflexes prevented her escape from the bed. He tried to get her to lie back and relax while Kathryn took the doctor aside. "Give him a minute, he can usually get her calmed down. I don't think she's seen a bio bed before and she's a little claustrophobic, he'll explain it to her. When she gets really upset or scared, she doesn't speak in English."

"Captain, I can sedate her for the rest of the examination, if you think that would be easier for her?"

"No, no, just give Chakotay a chance." Kathryn looked over and gave Tayla a smile as Chakotay did his best to soothe the child's escalating screaming and crying and keep her on the table. "Uh, Doctor, her doctor at home is an elderly Andorian woman. Do you think you could change your appearance to Andorian, Bolian, Antedean, Flotter or something… anything blue and hurry? She loves blue people!"

"I'm sorry, Captain, what you see is what you get! I can't understand this, I spent the last week reading all the Starfleet pediatric manuals and designing my new pediatric subroutine accordingly so that I would be humorous, entertaining and completely non-threatening to children. I don't know what could have possibly gone wrong to upset this child so!"

Kathryn joined Chakotay to help hold Tayla down as she kicked and screamed. "Maybe it would help if the kid had read the manuals too? Doctor, at this point I think the sedation would be a good idea!"

With Tayla sedated, the rest of the exam progressed quickly and the ophthalmologist was able to carry out a very thorough examination as well before the EMH reversed the sedation and Tayla awoke in Chakotay's arms. He looked down at her and smiled. "Hi, Sweetie, you were so tired you fell asleep! How do you feel?"

"OK," she replied as she clutched her doll tightly.

Kathryn smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Hungry, Sweetheart?"

"Yes, can we go and have lunch now?"

Chakotay sat her down on her feet as a young woman entered the room, introduced herself and tried to make friends. Chakotay rubbed Tayla's back as he spoke, "Well, Tayla, Aunt Katie and I have to talk to the doctors for a few minutes, but why don't you go with Nurse Elwani and she'll get you something to eat?"

Tayla immediately started getting whiny and clinging to Chakotay's leg again as she hid from the nurse, who was doing her best to gain the child's confidence.

"I believe I have a solution," The EMH said as he started for his office, "I'll be right back." When "the solution" entered the exam room, Tayla's eyes lit up. Within five minutes she was happily skipping off down the corridor to the cafeteria with her doll and her new best friend, her tears long forgotten.

"Who would have thought!" Kathryn exclaimed as she took a seat in the doctor's office."

The EMH sat at his desk and victoriously crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, you did say she likes blue people and Chell just started last week as a corpsman trainee and he likes kids, is blue and most certainly loves any excuse to go to the cafeteria, so it was the perfect solution!"

The doctor adopted a more serious tone as he consulted his PADD. "Captain, Commander, your niece's physical examination shows that she is essentially in good health. It appears she eats a healthy diet and receives adequate rest and exercise. She does have some spinal abnormalities not previously noted, no doubt due to her genetic makeup, and they should be monitored and may require surgical correction in a few more years. Given the primitive medical facilities on her home world, it is understandable they were not previously detected as they undoubtedly lack the proper diagnostic equipment. I would recommend that she come to an advanced medical facility once a year for an examination. It is also possible those abnormalities may not cause her any problems, but unfortunately, it appears there is very little medical data available on Cardassian-Human hybrid children. I will include some information for you on plastic surgery as well, as substantial work could be done to give her a more Human-like appearance. Again there is very little data to refer to, but it is my opinion that, as she grows, she is likely to take on a more Human appearance as her Cardassian traits should be increasingly obscured by her Human ones. Again, this is something that does not need to be decided upon until she is more physically mature, perhaps in about eight to ten years. As to her vision problems, I defer to my colleague Dr. Belmont."

"Thank you, Doctor," he replied as he handed Chakotay his report on a PADD. "As I am sure you are aware, Tayla is significantly visually impaired, particularly her near and peripheral vision, and this will progress as she ages if not treated. The problem is very common to Human-Cardassian children and lies in a chromosomal incompatibility that causes a significant retinal deformity. The good news is I can treat this here and substantially improve her visual acuity, however she will need to continue having annual treatments to maintain this until she has finished growing. The initial surgery will be more substantial and require four procedures, each a week apart. The surgeries are quick and painless, but, considering her age and demeanor, I would suggest sedating her for them, and she will need to be kept quiet at home for the first twenty four hours after each procedure. Everything is outlined on the PADD for you, so feel free to discuss it at home amongst yourselves and with the child's mother as there will be no harm in delaying the procedure for a few months if need be. If you will forgive me, I'm late for another appointment, but feel free to contact me if you have any more questions. Captain, Commander, it was indeed a great pleasure to meet you and your niece."

They stood and shook his hand as Chakotay said, "Thank you so much, we'll be in touch. Thank you too, Doctor, I guess we had better go and rescue Tayla before Chell lets her eat so much you have to treat her for a belly ache."

That evening Kathryn sat on the sofa putting the finishing touches on the sweater she knitted for Tayla. Chakotay entered the room and she held it up and smiled. "What do you think? Taking a break from long division?"

He sat down beside her and looked over the sweater. "Wow, that looks great, she'll love it! No, the poor kid was so tired I gave up on math and put her to bed. Well, did you talk to your mother?" She nodded yes. "And?"

Kathryn put her knitting away. "You'd better break out the wine first."

"That bad? Red or white or do you need some of your grandma's special coffee?" he asked as he headed to the kitchen.

"White, please. Let's put it this way, Mom started out with 'That bastard hasn't dumped you yet?' "

He chucked as he handed her a glass of wine and sat. "Exactly why does she think I would want to dump you?"

"Because you're only using me, of course."

"Of course!" he nodded, "Uh, using you for what?"

"A ride home to the Alpha Quadrant and sex. Oh, you're stealing my teaspoons and jewelry too."

He shook his head and grinned as he played with his earlobe. "Granted, you did give me a ride home, but I'd never steal anything from you and we're not exactly having sex…. and I don't have a problem with that, Kathryn, I told you, it's OK if you want…"

"Forget it, Chakotay, there's no reasoning with her. The good news is she said we could come for a visit and there's still plenty of snow. Mom still hates you, but she won't hold it against Tayla that you're her uncle and I kind of exaggerated and told her the child doesn't speak English very well, so you would have to come too as an interpreter."

"Well, that's good at least. Will I have to sleep in the barn?"

"No, the henhouse," Kathryn replied as she took another sip of wine and stared at his reaction. "I'm just kidding, Nana is still there, but everyone else went home, so Tayla can have my sister's room and you can sleep in the guest room at the end of the hall. Please don't worry, Mom would never take out her prejudices against you on Tayla, she's not that bad and she really wants her to come for a visit and to see snow for the first time. Mom may not like me too well right now or you at all, but she really does love kids and understands the plight of the half Cardassian kids and admires your sister for keeping her. We can stay until you get the OK from your sister to start Tayla's treatments or we get sick of Mom, whichever comes first, but she did promise me she would be on her best behavior for the sake of the child."

"OK, how about another glass of wine to celebrate?"

"Sure, but let's not stay up too late, I want to get up early and get packed so we can beam to Bloomington early enough that Tayla can play outside for a couple hours before it gets dark. Mom said it's supposed to snow again tomorrow afternoon."

The next morning Tayla had second thoughts as she and Kathryn and Chakotay placed their luggage on the transporter platform and waited for the operator to set the coordinates. Tayla had never transported before and, despite Kathryn explaining how the transporter worked to her, she just wasn't sure she trusted it, especially since she had just seen six people step onto it and, apparently, disappear forever. Kathryn had an idea and knelt down. "Tayla, remember the story I read you about Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz?" She nodded. "Well, you just hold my hand and click your heels together three times and close your eyes and, when you open them, we'll all be in a magical land of snow!"

"Are you sure, Aunt Katie?"

"Yes, close your eyes and click your heels…" Kathryn said as she stood and nodded to the smiling transporter operator.

As Tayla opened her eyes she jumped and all that would come out of her mouth was "Otala-ala!"

Chakotay smiled, "It means 'wow'." He reached down and scooped up a handful of snow. "Go ahead, Sweetie, you can touch it." She did and immediately jumped back and giggled. "It's cold, isn't it? Go on, you can touch it, pick some up and play with it. Kathryn, why don't you go see your mother and I'll stay out here with her for a few minutes and then bring her and the bags in?"

"OK, but don't let her stay too long, she needs to put more clothes and her boots and all on. Oh, here's the camera, take lots of pictures. I'll say hi to Mom and Nana and make us some hot cocoa."

Kathryn went into the house and her mother hugged and greeted her. "Oh, Katie, it's so good to see you. Look at you, you're so tan, you're almost as brown as… that man! Where's the little girl, what's her name, Taylor?"

"Tayla, Mom, she's outside with Chakotay looking at the snow. They'll be in in a couple minutes, let's go fix them some hot chocolate." They went into the kitchen as Kathryn motioned to the table. "Sit down, Mom, I want to talk. Mother, I know you don't like Chakotay, but you have to promise me that you will keep a civil tongue and not harass him, for the sake of the child. He isn't going to steal anything and he has never so much as laid a finger on me; he takes good care of me, makes me happy and he just adores his niece and is wonderful with her. Promise me, Mother!"

"I will, Katie, I promise. How did your trip to his planet go? I can't believe you ran off like that, what were you thinking? He didn't… do anything to you, did he? What, does his sister expect you to take care of that child?"

"Mom, we left because you threw him out the day after Christmas, remember? As I told you, Tayla has a problem with her eyes and is here for medical treatment at Starfleet that she can't get at home. When it's finished, we will take her home to Chakotay's sister on Dorvan and probably stay a week or two before we come back. I'm sure you know we're living at my house in San Francisco and, before you get started, Chakotay and I are sleeping in separate rooms, nothing has happened and we haven't even had time to go out on a date yet. We don't have any plans for after Tayla goes home and I have not heard anything about the future from Starfleet yet, but I should know by the end of the month. Our trip to Dorvan was fine."

"I see. So, you liked his sister? What's she like?"

"She has a hard life, I feel sorry for her and for the way Tayla and the other children like her are treated. I was surprised how primitive Dorvan is, there's been very little rebuilding since the Cardassian attacks and, to be honest, it was hotter than hell and worse than those damn camping trips you made me go on when I was little. Chakotay's sister and I didn't initially hit it off too well, but we worked it out." Kathryn got up and started making hot cocoa. "Mom, I swear, if you do anything to upset that child, we'll beam out of here so fast your head will spin and I won't come back. I love Chakotay and I love Tayla and you just have to accept that, Mother. Can you stir this please? I want to go say hi to Nana and call them in, I'll be right back."

Kathryn found her Nana in the living room and gave her a hug. "Oh, Nana, you look wonderful, I missed you so much and I'm sorry we had to leave like that. I'm surprised to see you still here, I thought you would have gone home?"

"Sit down, Katie, you look just wonderful, brown as the proverbial butternut! I stayed, it wasn't so bad, Gretchen went back with Phoebe and stayed in France for a few days, so Alexander came and stayed to keep me company."

"Alexander?"

"My gentleman friend," Nana smiled, "and not a word to your mother, she wouldn't approve! So, how are you and Chakotay getting along?"

"Just fine, Nana, he's outside with Tayla, his niece, introducing her to snow. Come on in the kitchen, I made cocoa and they should be right in. You'll love, Tayla, she's just precious!"

Kathryn helped Nana up as they started for the kitchen. "Katie, your mother has been bitching worse than a wet cat and pissing me off all morning Do you think you could put a little something in my cocoa to make the afternoon go by faster?"

"Nana! It's a little early for that, don't you think?

"Katie Dear, I've been putting up with your mother for almost sixty years, it's never too early!"

Kathryn went outside and she and Chakotay finally managed to drag Tayla in from the snow and convince her that it was rather pointless to bring a snowball into the house to "save" it. Chakotay took their bags upstairs as Kathryn took Tayla in the kitchen and introduced her. "Nana, Mom, this is Chakotay's niece Tayla. Tayla, this is my mother, Mrs. Janeway, and my grandma, Nana"

"Hello, Ma'am" she said as she offered a shy smile.

Nana immediately commandeered the child. "Call me Nana, Sweetheart, and come sit on my lap. Well, young lady, I hear you just saw snow for the first time, what did you think of it? "

Tayla was shy, but trying to be polite as Kathryn's smile reassured her. "Yes, Ma'am. It was pretty, but it was really cold and Aunt Katie wouldn't let me bring any in the house."

Upon hearing the child call Kathryn Aunt Katie, Gretchen rolled her eyes. Kathryn shot her a look as she served the cocoa and joined them at the table. As Chakotay entered the room, she got up to get him a mug of cocoa.

He smiled as he handed Gretchen a gift. "Hello, Mrs. Janeway, Nana, it's good to see you again. Kathryn and I brought you something from Dorvan. Well, Tayla is the one who actually picked out the colors and my sister made them, we hope you like them. Thank you very much for letting us visit, Tayla really enjoyed seeing snow for the first time." Chakotay gave Tayla a kiss and whipped something out from behind his back before he joined them at the table. "Are you missing someone?"

"Kella Thanna!" she exclaimed as she hugged her doll and then showed it off. "This is Kella Thanna, my best friend, she's Andorian! Is it OK she came with us?"

"Of course it is, Sweetheart," Nana replied as she gave the doll a pat on the head. "If you'd like, later this evening you can go through my yarn basket and pick out some pretty colors and we'll make something for her. Gretchen, aren't you going to open your gift? Hurry up, let's see what it is."

Gretchen tore the paper off and was awestruck as she looked at the set of placemats that Suleya had woven in a most amazingly intricate pattern. "Oh my, your sister made these? You mean, she actually made this cloth?"

"Yes, Ma'am," Chakotay replied, "she's been weaving since she was a little girl, my mother taught her. She specializes in small things, her loom doesn't make anything much larger than that. I told Tayla your dining room was green and she picked out the colors and then my sister made up the design to suit the colors; she has a real knack for that."

Gretchen actually cracked a smile as she passed the placemats to Nana. "She most certainly does, what exquisite work, the woman has a gift and is a true artist. Thank you, Chakotay, and please thank you sister for me."

"You're welcome, Ma'am, we're glad you like them," he replied as he smiled to himself; that was the first time Gretchen had actually called him by name. It didn't escape Kathryn either and she flashed Chakotay a hopeful smile.

Gretchen passed Tayla the brownies. "Here, Tayla, have something to eat. Do you know how to weave too?"

"Thank you. No, Ma'am, I can't weave, I can't see well enough to do it, but I like to draw pictures."

Chakotay gave her a smile. "Once the doctor fixes your eyes, you'll be able to learn to weave and do a lot of other things too, Tayla, and reading will be easier for you."

That evening after dinner, Gretchen joined Kathryn and Nana in front of the fireplace in the living room. "Where's Tayla? She doesn't go to bed this early, does she?"

"No, she and Chakotay are in the den doing her lessons. She's having a hard time with long division and he's trying to help her figure it out. She's pretty tired from playing outside all afternoon, so I think she'll go to bed early, but she'll come say goodnight first and it's my turn to read her a story. She just discovered Flotter and she can't get enough of him."

Gretchen grabbed her computer. "Here, Katie, I have a program here somewhere I wrote for Eddie back when he was having problems with long division. Put it on her computer and I bet it helps her out too… if I can find it."

"Never mind, Mom, Tayla doesn't have a computer, she doesn't know how to use one yet."

Gretchen was incredulous, "She doesn't? What kind of school doesn't teach that, she's six years old, isn't she?"

"Yes, she's six. Mom, Tayla doesn't go to school, they won't let her go because she's half Cardassian, so her mother teaches her at home. She can barely use a PADD because she can't see well, but we'll get her a computer as soon as she gets her eyes fixed and teach her how to use it. She's very bright, I'm sure she'll catch on fast. I told you, it's very primitive on Dorvan. Tayla and her mother live in a little four room house that isn't air conditioned, only has a solar power unit and, until Chakotay installed it when we were there, didn't even have running water, and still doesn't have a bathroom. They don't have a computer, replicator, recycler, car or any of that stuff; they can't afford it."

"My gods, how do they manage?"

"Chakotay's sister raises eggs and vegetables and sells her weaving and that's how they get by. Chakotay's going to put in a bathroom when we take Tayla home and help his sister out; it's not her fault the planet is in such sad shape, it just seems to have been forgotten by the post-war rebuilding effort, but I'm going to see what I can do. Chakotay's sister is very well educated, so Tayla will probably get a better education at home than she would at the village school anyhow and we'll make sure she has all the materials she needs."

"Oh, Katie, I had no idea! Why doesn't he just bring his sister and the child here to live?"

"He offered, but she won't leave; it's her home. I'm going to do what I can, the Federation President and a lot of other important people want to meet me and I'm going to use my celebrity to get help for Dorvan and other planets like it. Trust me, when the President meets Captain Janeway, he's going to get an earful! It's just simple economics, planets like Dorvan with small populations and no so called valuable natural resources that can be exploited are just being ignored. I'm working on a report to present, I'll do more research when we go back and should have it finished in another week or two after that."

"Good, send me a copy when you're done. I have a lot of friends in high places, I'll see what I can do. You're a Starfleet officer and have to be careful what you say, but I don't have that constraint."

Nana finally looked up from her knitting. "Send it to me too, Katie, I know of several reporters who will be very interested. I know for a fact those idiots at the Federation's planetary development committee just approved a huge loan to the Risan government to finance more resorts on the south coast. Well, if they have funding for whore houses on Risa, they can damn well build schools, hospitals, and bathrooms for children on Dorvan!"

Kathryn gave her grandma a hug. "I will, Nana, thank you and thank you too, Mom. Well, let me go see how Tayla is doing with long division."

Gretchen got up off the sofa. "Don't bother, I know a couple good tricks to explain it, I'll go see what I can do." She turned back and grinned, "I am pretty good at math, you know! Why don't you throw another log on the fire and have a glass of wine or a cup of tea or something?"

"Wow, thanks, Mom, I'll go make some tea. Tayla starts mixing up English and Indian words and gets whiny when she's tired, so just let us know when she's ready for bed."

Gretchen looked back over her shoulder on her way out. "Don't worry, Katie, I have a lot of experience with whiny little girls, remember?"

Time passed quickly. They alternated with playing outside in the snow and day trips to various educational sights, but it was obvious Tayla much preferred playing in the snow and just couldn't get enough of it. She decided ice skating was too hard, but sledding was a favorite, as was going for rides with Nana on her hover chair and the front lawn was now populated with over two dozen rather strange looking snowmen. The farm's dozen or so chickens had all been given new names as well as a stern lecture about how their eggs were too small and the wrong color. The pony Gretchen kept for the smaller grandkids also proved to be a new friend and pony rides were also a favorite activity. Long division was still most definitely not a favorite, but, with Gretchen's help, Tayla did manage to finally figure it out. The child was very gifted in the arts and most curious about science, but it seemed apparent mathematics, at least for the time being, was little more than a necessary evil.

Kathryn looked up from her work in response to her name being called from the hall. "I'm in the den, Mom."

Her mother sat and joined her. "Where is everyone?"

Kathryn closed her computer and put it aside. "Tayla lost a mitten, she and Chakotay went outside to look for it before it gets dark. Nana said she didn't sleep well last night and was tired, so she went to take a nap before dinner. Do you need help with dinner, Mom?"

"No, we're ordering pizza tonight, remember? Katie, we need to talk about the liquor cabinet, I think Chakotay's been in it and he must have a drinking problem."

Kathryn laughed, "Really? That's news to me. Mom, he has a glass or two of wine with dinner sometimes and a beer every once in a while, but he doesn't even drink hard liquor. If something is missing it's probably just from all the company over the holidays."

"Katie, I'm serious, there was a full bottle of vodka in the cabinet and I went to get some last night to make a cosmo for Betty and it's almost empty. I know you don't drink vodka and I hadn't touched it and I'm sure your grandmother hasn't, so it must be him. Katie, sometimes someone can be drinking right under your nose and you don't even know it!"

Kathryn clamped her hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. "Yes, Mother, I suppose that's true, but it wasn't him. I'm sorry, I, uh, I was looking for some anisette to make myself a um… a Talaxian fizzle late last night and I mistook the vodka for anisette and accidentally knocked it over and spilled it when I was reaching to turn the blender off. I meant to replace it today, but I forgot. I'm sorry."

"That's OK. A Talaxian fizzle, that sounds interesting, Katie, what's in it?"

"Um… ice and tranya and something clear um… well, I can't remember exactly, that's why I got upset and spilled the vodka. I'll send Neelix a message in the next data stream and ask him for the recipe."

"Please let me know when you get it, sounds exotic, my bridge club might like them. Are you still going back tomorrow even though you haven't heard from Tayla's mother yet?"

"Yes, we have to, we both have a meeting with Admiral Paris Monday afternoon. It's getting late, why don't you go ahead and order the pizza now?"

"Alright, why don't you call Tayla and Chakotay in and I'll go wake Nana, then order the pizza?"

Kathryn jumped up and started out of the room. "No, just go order the pizza and yell out the door for Chakotay, OK? I'll go wake Nana, I need to talk to her about something anyhow." Kathryn went straight to Nana's room and woke her. "Nana, we have to talk, Mom missed the vodka and tried to blame Chakotay for drinking it. I made up a story and said I spilled it, but Nana, you have to either lay off the sauce or be more careful!"

"Vodka? Katie Dear, I only drink whiskey, you know that, and I get my own, I don't drink that cheap crap your mother has! I don't drink that much, Dear, just enough to stand your mother's nagging. Oh, vodka? Oops, Alexander drank that, he loves martinis you know. When your mother was off visiting Phoebe in France we replicated some strawberries and whipped cream and fired up the hot tub, got naked and…"

"Too much information, Nana!" Kathryn shouted as she shook her head and ran from the room.

Chakotay, Kathryn and Tayla beamed back to San Francisco on Sunday evening after dinner. The following day they rushed around to get ready to drop Tayla off at Sam's before their meeting with Admiral Paris. Kathryn dashed into the living room, still struggling with her unruly hair, while Chakotay was trying to convince Tayla it was not going to snow and there was no need to wear her snow boots over to Naomi's.

Tayla looked up and giggled. "Aunt Katie, you're wearing man's clothes, you and Uncle Chakotay look like twins!" Kathryn realized she had forgotten something and ran back to her room.

Chakotay grabbed Tayla's jacket. "Here, Sweetie, we're late, get your coat on. Women here wear pants sometimes too, you know, like Bolian women at home wear pants. Aunt Katie and I have to wear these clothes for work. Remember when we were at Starfleet? We all have to dress pretty much the same, they're called uniforms, so we all look alike. Come on, let's go, we can't be late. KATHRYN! Come on!"

She came running into the room, shoved more in her briefcase and slammed it shut. "No need to shout, I'm not deaf yet. Here. Tayla, Nana made this for you, a special surprise for your first time spending the day at Naomi's. Come on, we have to go, you can put it on in the car."

Leaving Tayla with the Wildmans wasn't as traumatic as they thought it might be and no tears were shed as Kathryn and Chakotay dashed off down the hall while Tayla waved goodbye and held Kella Thanna, dressed in her new little red and black Starfleet uniform.

The week flew by and Tayla spent a good deal of it at the Wildmans while Chakotay and Kathryn attended various meetings and debriefings at Starfleet. They both had meetings all afternoon Friday and collected Tayla from Sam's before they headed home. Kathryn dumped her things in a pile by the door and collapsed on the sofa as Tayla went to her room to put up the pictures she and Naomi had painted that afternoon. Kathryn peeled off her boots and sighed, "My gods, Chakotay, but I'm tired, what a week! How about we just order a pizza tonight, I don't feel like cooking and we really need to go grocery shopping again anyhow."

He sat beside her, grabbed her feet and started rubbing them. "Nope, I have plans for you, Kathryn! You go take a nice shower and put on a pretty dress and I'm taking you out to dinner at the Officer's Club for our first real date. Go on, no arguments!"

"Chakotay, we can't, what about Tayla? Kids aren't allowed there, you know that!"

Chakotay put Kathryn's feet on the floor and pulled her to a standing position. "Not a problem, I have it covered." He pulled off two of her pips and handed them to her. "It's Friday night, you're going on a date with me and that's an order, so get in there and get yourself all dressed up nice and snap to it!"

Kathryn wasn't sure what was up, but she went ahead and showered and changed. When she came back in the living room Chakotay was sitting on the sofa dressed in his best suit and Tayla was next to him looking like she had just swallowed the Cheshire cat. Kathryn put her hands on her hips and smiled. "Well, I can see this is a conspiracy and I'm outnumbered, but would anyone care to explain to me what's going on?"

Tayla jumped up and gave Kathryn a hug. "Nope, it's a surprise! You look really pretty, Aunt Katie." The door chime sounded and, when Tayla opened it, Kathryn finally figured out what was going on.

Chakotay handed Kathryn a rose as he held out her jacket for her. "See, I think of everything! Come on, we have reservations for 1900 and I intend to wine and dine you, then dance your feet right out of those heels and the sitter can stay until midnight and brought a pizza. We'll be at the Officer's Club if you have any problems and we have our comm badges."

"Yes, Sir, have a good evening and don't worry, we'll be fine. Here, Tayla, I brought you a present."

She opened the bag and screamed, "Fried pies, oh thank you, Mr. Chell!"

Kathryn and Chakotay arrived home about fifteen minutes after midnight and rushed in to find Chell sitting on the sofa with a PADD, eating a slice of pizza.

Kathryn apologized, "I'm so sorry we're late, did you have any problems, Chell?"

"No, Captain, Tayla was very well behaved and was tired, so she fell asleep before we'd even finished the next chapter in her story book. After dinner we played kadis-kot and then I helped her with the math problems she said she had to do and quizzed her on her spelling words and she knows them all. I've just been studying my comparative anatomy PADD and having a little snack. I like your house, Ma'am, it's very nice, good kitchen. Here, let me clean up."

"No, no, no, we'll get it. Thank you, Chell, it's so nice to have someone come stay with Tayla that she's comfortable with."

Chakotay shook his hand. "Yes, thank you again so much, we really appreciate this. Same time next week?"

"Of course, it would be my pleasure, Sir. Have a good weekend and please tell Tayla I said goodbye."

Kathryn picked up the pizza box and flipped it open as Chakotay gathered up the soda containers, "Midnight snack?"

"Mmm, yes, I'm hungry again." He stared into the box and frowned. "Damn, that was a large extra cheese and it's all gone! Tayla can only eat one piece, so Chell must have eaten almost an entire large pizza."

"And two apples and three bananas and a bag of chips and the rest of the sugar cookies," Kathryn said as she tossed the trash into the pizza box. "Are you sure we can afford to have Chell baby sit?"

"We'll buy more food next week! Forget the trash, Kathryn, and come here," Chakotay said as he pulled Kathryn to him and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Kathryn, I had a wonderful time tonight and I hope you'll go out with me again next Friday night, if I can afford Chell."

Kathryn wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his chest. "Thank you, Chakotay, it was a wonderful surprise and I had a great time too. So, are we officially dating now?"

"I hope so," he said as he slid his hands up to her shoulders and smiled at her. "And I hope you'll let me give you a real kiss goodnight. Would that be OK, Kathryn?"

No answer was necessary as Kathryn pulled him down to her and their lips met… and then their tongues met. "Goodnight Chakotay, and thank you again." She jumped up and gave him another kiss before she ran off down the hall. "I love you!"

He wrapped his arms around himself and twirled around as he quietly said, "Spirits, woman, but I love you! Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

"Yes!" and a giggle floated down the hall before he heard her bedroom door shut.

When Kathryn emerged from a rather grueling meeting with the temporal prime directive review board late Wednesday afternoon, she made a mad dash for the restroom, but am arm grabbed her to pull her into an alcove before she got there. "Hi, how'd it go? I finally heard from my sister, here," Chakotay said as he shoved a PADD at her.

"Um," she pointed to the bathroom down the hall, "Four cups of coffee, six admirals, two commodores and three hours, I really need to go there! Can you give me a really fast version of what she said?"

"Sure, she said yes to the surgery and Tayla can go to school while she's here too." He looked around and, seeing no one, gave her a quick kiss. "Go on, I'll wait for you here and we can talk about it and you can tell me about your meeting on our way over to schedule the surgery."

They scheduled the surgeries for late Friday afternoons, since that would allow Tayla to enroll in school and not miss any due to her medical treatments. Her first surgery that Friday went well and the tears cleared up as soon as she woke from the sedation and realized she could see much better. Keeping her quiet for the required twenty four hours after the surgery was going to be a challenge! Kathryn and Chakotay's last set of meetings and debriefings at Starfleet ended and they were both granted six months of leave, but still didn't know what they would be doing after that.

When they took Tayla to Starfleet Elementary to enroll her on Monday morning, she was very apprehensive and became much worse when she found out she wouldn't be in Naomi's class as she wasn't as advanced with her studies. The school presented Tayla with a brand new academic computer, but her fears overrode her inquisitive nature as all she knew was she was the only kid in the building that looked like she did and didn't know how to use a computer. Chakotay sat back and let the teachers handle it, but Kathryn was committed to stay with the child and show her everything about the computer before she would leave.

Finally the school administrator pried Kathryn off Tayla as an aide led the child away to her classroom. "Please, Captain Janeway, she'll be fine! We have children from all over the galaxy here and we can handle them, Ma'am. Please don't worry, we'll take good care of her and call you if we have any problems." The woman handed Kathryn a tissue. "It's OK, Captain Janeway, I know it's hard to let go."

Kathryn nodded and sobbed as Chakotay finally led her out of the office. "Come on, Aunt Katie, let's go get a cup of coffee. Here I thought I'd be the one to fall apart! Don't worry, we can pick her up at 1500, you know; they only get her for six hours a day."

Kathryn looked back one more time. "I know, but letting go isn't exactly my specialty, Chakotay."

He took her hand and gave it a squeeze before he tucked it through his arm and held on tight, "Don't worry, letting go isn't my specialty either."

The next four weeks flew by. Tayla finally decided she liked school and made some friends and her surgeries went well and the doctors released her with an excellent prognosis. Her mother consented to allow her to spend an extra week on Earth, so Kathryn and Chakotay filled it with day trips and evenings of quality family time together. Tayla's improved eyesight led to a dramatic improvement in her drawings, so much so that the art teacher at her school had sent home a message that the child had real talent and should be encouraged. Kathryn's sister Phoebe, an artist, took a look at some of Tayla's drawings and also agreed that the child had a gift and a very novel innovative style influenced by her Indian heritage, keen observational powers and attention to detail. This delighted Tayla to no end as she had said all along she wanted to be an artist when she grew up. Her trip to the Simian Study Center had also made her think she might like to grow up and work with primates.

With their departure day for Dorvan on Wednesday, Kathryn and Chakotay chose to spend the Monday before as a quiet day at home because their weekend trip to Indiana had tired them all out. Tayla had also amassed a lot of belongings that needed to be carefully packed for the trip. Thanks largely to Kathryn's grandmother, Kella Thanna had acquired such an extensive wardrobe that the doll practically needed her own set of luggage. They had assured Tayla she didn't need her coat, snow boots and such at home and would grow out of them by the next year when she came back for her follow up treatment, but she insisted that all winter clothing go back with her as well.

Chakotay chucked as he tried to get the boots into a cargo pod and get the lid closed, "Kathryn, I think we created a monster!"

Kathryn sat on it, which held the lid down long enough that Chakotay could latch it. "Don't blame me, you're the one that bought her all those stuffed animals! Oops, I hear the comm link, see if you can get all her books into that pod and I'll go see what it is, check on her and I'll be right back." Kathryn returned in a few minutes and dumped a stack of PADDs on the bed. "Here, we forgot these. That was Owen Paris, he wants to talk to me in his office, so I'll beam over and I'll be right back. I think there must be some problem with my notes for something or other. Tayla is at the kitchen table with her watercolors making a goodbye present for Chell. I'll be right back and I expect to see everything packed!"

Chakotay looked up and laughed, "OK, but don't come back until tomorrow!"

Kathryn beamed straight to Owen's office and took the seat he offered as he said, "Sorry for bothering you and having you come in on such short notice, but we needed to talk in person. Coffee?"

"Rhetorical question," she replied as she put her briefcase on her lap and opened it. "What's the matter, did I forget to dot an I or cross a T?"

He put her coffee on the desk and took his seat as he handed her a PADD. "I'm afraid it's more than that. Katie, they want you to attend the conference on the Pathfinder Project that starts this Wednesday."

She threw up her hands and laughed. "Sorry, I can't, I'll be on Dorvan; we leave Wednesday to take Chakotay's niece back."

He clasped his hands together and leaned his chin on them. "I know, but you don't have a choice in this, you have to go. It's not me, Katie, this comes from way over my head."

"Owen, with all due respect, I'm on leave, my first leave in seven years."

"It's been canceled. You know as well as I do Starfleet can recall anyone from leave."

"We're leaving Wednesday morning, we're all packed, we already have the tickets!" An idea struck her. "They're non-refundable."

"Starfleet will reimburse you."

"Owen, I can't go, we have to take Tayla home. It's leave for a family medical emergency, won't they buy that?"

"Kathryn, the child isn't really related to you, she's Chakotay's niece."

"Well, what if we got married tonight? Want to perform a wedding, are you busy, say eightish?"

Owen laughed, "Katie, I'd love to marry you two, but there is no getting out of this, Harkins wants Captain Janeway and there's nothing I can do about it. I know your situation, trust me, Katie, I tried, I even offered to send Picard or Data in your place. I'm very sorry, but you have to attend… it's an order, Kathryn."

She punched a button on the PADD as she exclaimed, "Damn! Excuse me, Sir, that was damn them not damn you. Owen, it's not that I don't think the Pathfinder Project is important, heaven knows I'm more grateful to them than anyone, but isn't there some way someone else could go? What about Tuvok or Harry Kim?"

"Kim was recalled too and is going and Tuvok's doctors won't let him travel yet, much less attend. Katie, I swear, if there were any other way… Everything is on the PADD and it's just for three days. I'll meet you at the Communications Research Center at 0800 Wednesday morning. You will be there?"

She tossed the PADD into her briefcase, slammed it shut and stood. "Yes, Sir, under protest, but I'll be there."

When Kathryn got home she was practically in tears, so Tayla immediately ran, got Chakotay and brought him into the kitchen. Kathryn got a cup of coffee and put on a happy face for Tayla's sake as she took Chakotay's hand and said, "Sweetie, Chakotay and I are going to go into my room and discuss something, we'll be back in a few minutes, OK?"

Tayla returned to her painting. "OK." She started giggling, "It's OK, you don't have to pretend, you're going to go make a baby, aren't you?"

"What!" Kathryn and Chakotay gasped in unison.

Tayla looked up and grinned as she pushed her tongue through the gap in her missing front teeth. "I know all about that, Naomi told me. When her parents hold hands then go in the bedroom and shut the door in the middle of the day, they're really working on making her a baby brother or sister."

"Oh," Kathryn sighed, at a loss for words. "Well, we're just going to talk, Sweetheart, honest."

"Uh huh," she replied as she giggled again, "But I would really like to have a cousin to play with!"

Kathryn explained the situation to Chakotay and they both agreed that he would have to take Tayla home alone as he knew his sister would not agree to a further delay, even if there were time to inform her, and all the arrangements had already been made. They went and explained everything to Tayla and she was very grown up about understanding that Aunt Katie had important work to do.

Kathryn had to spend all day Tuesday preparing her presentation for the conference the next day, so Chakotay kept Tayla out of her hair. They had a small goodbye pizza party that evening and invited the Wildmans, Chell, the EMH, Gretchen and Nana Janeway. Kathryn had made it very clear there were to be no gifts as they had no room to pack them, but nobody listened to her and they had to somehow fit more things into Chakotay's suitcase as Tayla's couldn't possibly hold anything else.

Kathryn walked into Tayla's room and grinned at Chakotay as he tried to get a suitcase shut. "Here, let me help. Tayla's in the tub, so we have about fifteen minutes. You are going to put a bathroom in for them while you're there, aren't you?"

"Yes, unless something I ordered didn't come, but the man assured me it would all be there. Suli's birthday is next month, so I'm going to get her a horse and wagon as an early present. Don't worry, the next time we visit, there will be a bathtub there for you, my dear! Which story are we going to read her tonight?"

"Well, I have a good one about the MIDAS array that I worked on all day. Damn, but I am so pissed about having to go to that conference and you know how I hate giving speeches in the first place! All Tayla's PADDs and books are packed, so maybe you could just tell her a story? She never gets tired of hearing about Neelix, so just make something up?" Kathryn slid her arms around Chakotay's neck. "Maybe you could tell her that so called ancient legend about the angry warrior?"

He gave her a little kiss. "So, you like that one?" She nodded. "Well, it just so happens I don't know what the ending is to that story yet, so I can only tell her part of it." He gave Kathryn another kiss, wrapped his arms around her and held her tight as he whispered in her ear, "But, I certainly know how I would like that story to end, Kathryn Janeway!"

The next morning Kathryn had to leave before Chakotay and Tayla did and they said their tearful goodbyes in the living room. They already had plans to go back to Dorvan and visit again in June, for Tayla to return for Christmas and Chakotay would be back in just two weeks, but somehow Kathryn found all of that too overwhelming and had trouble keeping her eyes clear as she drove to Starfleet for the conference.

She made the rounds as Admiral Paris introduced her to various dignitaries, took her seat and opened her brief case to go over her speech again during the boring opening remarks made by admirals who probably didn't have the slightest idea how the MIDAS array worked or even where it was located. As she took out her PADD she found a small envelope attached to it. The little card had a red heart drawn on it in crayon and just three words written inside: "I love you", and it was signed by Chakotay and Tayla. A small bow tied a sparkly snowflake necklace to the card. Kathryn discretely slipped the necklace around her neck and tucked it under her uniform as the little snowflake melted her heart.

Kathryn ducked out of the dinner at the conclusion of the conference, saying that she wasn't feeling well. Paris was glad to cover for her even though he knew it was a lie and she knew he knew. Her presence at the conference had been important, but not nearly as important as it would have been to her to be with Chakotay and his niece.

When she got home, Kathryn checked for a message from Chakotay, but knew it was unlikely there would be one as communications with Dorvan were so slow and he had only been gone for three days. She had a message from her mother inviting her for the weekend, but replied that she wasn't feeling well and wanted to stay home. She sent Chakotay a message, knowing that he might not receive it before he left, but it made her feel better to send it. Kathryn peeled off her uniform and, disgusted with Starfleet, threw it in a pile in the corner before she took a shower, put on her nightclothes and settled on the sofa with a mug of tea and a sandwich. The book she was trying to read didn't stand a chance at holding her interest, so she finally tossed it on the coffee table and went to bed early.

Kathryn slept late the next morning and felt much better when she got up. The house had been a mess after Tayla's goodbye party and her three days of doing nothing during the conference had only made it even worse. After a couple cups of coffee she resolved to do something about it and cleaned the house, took care of the laundry, put everything away and went to the grocery store to restock the kitchen. After lunch she made a list of all the things she wanted to do to fix up the house and the yard, made a shopping list and spent the afternoon buying things for her projects.

The next ten days passed quickly as Kathryn worked on her house and yard and eventually crossed several of the projects off her list. She finally received a message from Chakotay that they had arrived safely on Dorvan, he missed her and was looking forward to coming home. With Chakotay coming back that evening, Kathryn planned a special menu and made another trip to the grocery store and even bought herself a new outfit and splurged on some flowers and a very expensive bottle of wine. She prepared everything that she could for dinner ahead of time, placed it in stasis and set the table. Glancing at the time, she calculated she could spend a half hour in the bathtub and still have time to get dressed, get to the shuttle port, park and arrive at the gate to meet Chakotay.

Kathryn filled her tub with luxurious bubbles, climbed in and slipped beneath the water to wet her hair. She grabbed her favorite shampoo, but put it back and grabbed another bottle instead. Her favorite made her hair easy to comb out, but the other was the one Chakotay most often complimented her on, saying the scent reminded him of the night blooming jasmine that grew at home. As she lathered up her hair, she noticed the bottle said the shampoo was supposedly violet and lavender scented and had nothing to do with jasmine at all.

The sound of the front door chime brought her back to reality. Not expecting anyone, she ignored it, but soon the visitor switched to loudly knocking on the door. As Kathryn climbed out of the tub, wrapped herself in a towel and grabbed another to wrap around her sudsy hair, she realized who it must be and cursed herself. She had finally given in and bought a replicator and, when the store called to tell her they couldn't deliver it that afternoon as promised, she lit into them and told them what she would do with them if they did not have the replicator at her door before five pm, even though they assured her repeatedly that was impossible. By the time she grabbed her robe and dripped her way down the hall to the door, the knocking had escalated to fist pounding and Kathryn's annoyance to something slightly less dangerous than an overloaded phaser.

She opened the door, slammed her hands on her hips, stared down at the water pooling at her feet and shouted, "You should have called first, this is **NOT** a convenient time!"

"Gosh, Ma'am, I'm sorry, I guess maybe I should come back later, when you're not standing there looking all wet and sexy?"

"**I beg your pardon!" **Kathryn screamed as she wrapped her arms around her body, realizing the top of her thin beige robe was so wet it was becoming transparent.** "**Chakotay, you're home!" she shouted as she jumped into his arms.

"Yes, and boy did I miss you! I caught an earlier shuttle and took a cab home to surprise you… and I see I did! How come I couldn't get in the door, did you change the code?"

Kathryn clutched her robe closed and wiped off the trail of subs escaping from the towel on her head. "Yes, I wasn't sure how many people had it and I know Mom does and I don't want her barging in here unannounced, so I changed it. Uh… maybe I should just go finish my bath?"

He gave her another kiss, "Go ahead, take your time, I'll clean up the puddle and wait for you in the living room. May I do anything in the kitchen for you? Something smells good!"

"No, stay out of the kitchen and wait in the living room, it's a surprise!" Kathryn finished her bath, did her hair and put on her new dress. She took a moment to admire herself in the mirror and had to admit that she looked pretty good. No, not just pretty good, she looked pretty damn hot! She finished dinner and carried it to the dining room as Chakotay told her about his trip from the living room. When everything was finished she lit the candles, stood by the table and called him in.

"Wow! Kathryn, the table looks wonderful and the food looks marvelous! You look very nice, I haven't seen you in that dress before, is it new?"

"Yes," she replied as he seated her at the table, "I bought it this morning. You don't think it's too much do you?"

As he stood behind her chair, Chakotay bent down to kiss her neck. "No, not at all, and the view from up here is very nice! It's not too much, I really like it and think it's just prefect. You may not want to wear it for dinner again, though, because the food doesn't look half as delicious as you do!"

She pushed him off and shoved the salad bowl into his hands. "Oh, stop! Sit down and eat before the food gets cold. I bought a replicator, but it hasn't been delivered yet, so I actually cooked all this myself. You told me the bathroom you built for your sister turned out great, but what about a mule and a wagon, did you get them"

"Yes, well, I got her a horse, not a mule. She had a fit and said it was too much and I had to take it back, but Tayla had the horse renamed and got attached to it in less than an hour, so, of course, it stayed. This salad dressing is great, did you make it?"

Kathryn laughed, "Not exactly, but I did put it into the shopping cart myself. What did Tayla name the horse?"

"Flotter," Chakotay grinned.

Kathryn shook her head and laughed, "Is it blue?"

"No, actually it's about the color of your hair and Tayla wanted to name it 'Katie', but my sister convinced her it wouldn't be good to name a 'boy horse' Katie. I have some pictures, I'll show them to you after dinner. Uh, Kathryn, what are those orange things in that bowl?"

"Carrots! Just kidding, it's plomeek. I know you don't love me enough to eat carrots," she teased as she passed him the bowl. "Try them, they're good."

"OK, I don't really care for plomeek either, but I'll eat it for you. Oh, you didn't tell me, how did that Pathfinder conference go? How was your speech?"

She laughed, "Both were quite boring. Oh, something good did come out of it. I quite literally got cornered by a retired admiral, probably older than my grandmother, who used to teach communications at the academy. I thought I was in for a fate worse than death, but it was actually very interesting. I was going on about my trip to Dorvan and the problems with getting messages in and out of there and the admiral was incensed that a Federation planet still didn't have a communications array. Long story short, the admiral promised me Dorvan would have a state of the art communications array within thirty days, so I guess we should send your sister a comm link tomorrow."

"Wow, that's wonderful! What was the admiral's name?"

Kathryn scratched her head. "I knew you'd ask me that and I can't remember, Uhura something or other I think."

After dinner they adjourned to the sofa with the rest of the wine and chatted late into the night about Chakotay's trip and all the pictures he brought back. Tayla had made up another hand written and illustrated story book about the further adventures of beautiful Andorian nun princess starship captain Kella Thanna and they read it from cover to cover and had a good laugh over Tayla's drawings and her very vivid imagination. Good things were starting to happen on Dorvan. Dr. Belmont had contacted the Andorian relief workers in Ixta and asked them to try to organize all the half Cardassian children so that he could make arrangements for them to be brought to Federation facilities for the eye surgery they needed. The tribal elders started meeting to try to form some sort of government and infrastructure to coordinate with the Federation's Planetary Development Bureau so that it could better meet the needs of the people.

Chakotay checked the time and was surprised to find it was almost midnight. "I had no idea it was so late! Kathryn, would it be alright if I spent the night here?"

She took his hands and gave him a little smile. "Chakotay, I think we need to talk about that, about our living arrangements, I mean." He knew that wasn't good and the lump in his throat cut off his words, so he just nodded. "Chakotay, I had a lot of time to think while you were gone and I made some plans. I want to turn the spare room into an office and fix up the kitchen since I may actually use it now to cook rather than just as room to keep the replicator in. I painted the master bedroom and I want to redecorate it, something more cheerful, maybe get some new furniture and I'd like to put a vegetable garden in the back yard."

"That sounds like a lot of work! You know, I'd be glad to help you with all that, Kathryn."

"I know that, that's why I think maybe you should just stay here."

"You mean, permanently?"

"Yes," she grinned, "I went through my wardrobe, thinned it out and made some space for you in the closet, but it still needs some major rearranging and tidying."

He pulled her up off the sofa and wrapped his arms around her waist, "Well, why don't we go to the bedroom and make that our first project?"

Kathryn pulled Chakotay closer to her, kissed him soundly on the lips and grinned as she started down the hall. She stopped, turned and held out her hand as she gave him a slightly crooked and very mischievous smile. "Well, Chakotay, let's go to the bedroom, but I really had another project in mind for this evening!"

/\


	4. Chapter 4

/\

Some months later Tayla ran yelling through the house, "Mommy, Mommy, the man brought us a package, it's from Earth, from Uncle Chakotay!"

"Bring it in here, Tayla," her mother yelled from the kitchen, "And no running in the house, young lady! I'm up to my elbows in dough, so you can go ahead and open it."

"OK, Momma," she replied as she sat at the table and opened the box. "Here's some seeds for the garden, for flowers and some kinds of squash that are supposed to grow good in hot weather. Oh wow, more books, lots of books for us, a game called kal-tow, some soap that smells good and here's an envelope with our names on it, see?"

"Yes, my hands are dirty, go ahead and open it and read it, please."

"OK," she replied as she opened the envelope. "Look, Mommy, it's a card, it's pretty with flowers on it!" She showed her mother the card and then opened it and read, "Mrs. Gretchen Janeway invites you to celebrate the marriage of her daughter Kathryn Elizabeth to Chakotay on Friday December twenty-second, 2378 at eight o'clock in the evening at…"

"What?" Suleya rushed to the table, looked at the card with her own eyes and started smiling. "Oh, Tayla, Chakotay and Kathryn are getting married!"

"I know, Mommy, that's wonderful, isn't it, like a fairy tale happily ever after prince and princess story?"

Suli wiped away a tear as she smiled and replied, "Yes, oh yes, it's wonderful, and you'll be on Earth then so you can go to the wedding! Look, Sweetie, there's more in the box."

Tayla removed a box, "Ohhh, chocolates, and look, there's a present, it says it's for me!" Tayla tore into the gift wrap and had it off in a second and a half to reveal an adorable pink stuffed rabbit with a silly grin on its face. She hugged the rabbit and then noticed that there was a little note tied around his neck, so she removed it and read it out loud. "Dear Tayla, Thank you very much for all the wonderful illustrated story books you have been making and sending to us; we are carefully saving them all. We got you this special rabbit to say thank you. This is not an ordinary rabbit, it is a very special plot bunny that, we hope, will give you ideas for many many more wonderful stories for us. Love, Aunt Katie and Uncle Chakotay."

THE END

Notes: This story obviously ignores that pesky C/7 canon, as it deserves to be. I had to name Chakotay's home planet, so I chose Dorvan, if you prefer Trebus, just substitute. In "Tattoo" Chakotay said he didn't speak his native language, but it was instrumental to the story for him to have conversations Kathryn didn't understand, so I ignored this bit of canon as it makes little sense to me someone as into his cultural heritage as Chakotay wouldn't speak the language. I know they don't use actual money in the 24th century, but I had to tweak that a bit for the sake of the plot. I don't know anything about kids, so if Tayla is not normal for a six year old, that's because she's half Cardassian! The characters belong to Paramount, but they locked them up in a dusty old vault and they were getting dreadfully bored, so I let them out to play. I don't make any money off this, but I have a lot of fun and I hope you did too! I don't have a beta, so all mistakes are mine. The last time the grammar police showed up with a warrant for my arrest, I jumped into an escape pod and got away.


End file.
